Calling International Rescue
by ChrisDonati
Summary: International Rescue- an organisation, set up in the year 2065 by billionaire Jeff Tracy, to help save lives around the world. Whatever the distress call, they will answer. However, with that power comes enemies, none more so than a mysterious criminal known only as 'The Hood'. Can IR function in secret, without their incredible organisation being exposed?
1. Thunderbirds Are Go, Part I

**THUNDERBIRDS ARE GO**

Money and power- those were the two things he had craved for most of his life. Even when he was young, he would always look to take advantage whenever the opportunity arrived. Now, as he sat in his glorious temple, hidden in the Malaysian jungle, he knew that it had all been worth it. However, the job was not yet done- he had always been trying to get his brother, Kyrano, to join his side in the quest for glory, but he had turned his back, and was now working for someone else. He was working for an organisation years ahead of its time, with technology that would more than triple his current wealth if he could get it onto the Black Market. This organisation was yet to show itself to the world, but that did not deter him; He was confident he could draw them out and then defeat them where they stand. International Rescue were going to have their first mission, whether they liked it or not.

"Thunderbird 1 to Tracy Island, this is Thunderbird 1 calling Tracy Island" Scott said, sitting in the pilot's seat of his Thunderbird.  
"Thunderbird 1 from Tracy Island, reading you loud and clear Scott." Came the reply over his radio system. As with everything else on the craft, this was his first time using the radio; It had taken him 30 minutes just to figure out how to turn it on. But this was going to be his craft during rescue missions, so he had made it his duty to figure out what every single button and dial did.  
"I have completed my test run father, all systems are fully operational and ready to go."  
"Good work Scott" His father replied. "Virgil has just picked up Gordon from his test run of Thunderbird 4, and John is now up in Thunderbird 5, so you're free to come back to the Island whilst nobody else is trying to land."  
"FAB." Scott said, shutting off the channel. After remembering how to turn TB1 around, he pushed in the required levers and headed straight back for home. Now all he had to look forward to was figuring out how to work the retros properly so he didn't crash into the landing bay. Well, there had to be a first time for everything; He was just glad he got to practise with his new machine before they went out on rescue missions. Then there would be no time to make any mistakes.

Tracy Island was almost deserted when Scott got back, though both his father, Jeff, and their servant, Kyrano, were still on the Island.  
"How was the machine?" Jeff asked once he entered the living area. He'd already been over it on the radio, but Jeff wanted to ask in person too.  
"It was great" Scott replied. "Like nothing I ever flew in the Air Force, that's for sure."  
They both gathered round as Kyrano brought them drinks. It allowed Scott to marvel at just how big Tracy Island actually was- sure, he'd been living there long enough, but it still got him every time. A mass of rocky hills and crystal clear water, Tracy Island was a paradise. Jeff had bought it for his family as a place to escape the world, but now it acted as their base for International Rescue as well as their home, housing as much privacy as it did luxury. A billionaire, Jeff Tracy was one of his era's pioneer Astronauts, who turned his passion for the unknown into a business venture and made a fortune in technology endeavours. After having five sons, all who had their own careers, and then tragically losing his wife, he decided to funnel his money into a worthwhile cause- to help save people's lives. All of this, however, had only been made possible with the help of their Chief Designer and Engineer, Brains. Of course, Brains wasn't his real name, but one the boys had given him for his incredible knowledge. It was with his design that all 5 Thunderbird crafts had been created- each of the crafts piloted by one of Jeff Tracy's sons:

Thunderbird 1, the primary scout vehicle and first response Thunderbird for International Rescue, was piloted by Scott, the eldest of the Tracy brothers. As a former Air Force pilot, this was the craft that suited him the most.

Thunderbird 2, the heavy rescue vehicle, able to carry 'pods' filled with equipment, was piloted by the middle child of the family, Virgil. In addition to other vehicles, it also carried Thunderbird 4 into action whenever it was needed.

Thunderbird 3, International Rescue's space vehicle, piloted primarily by the youngest Tracy, Alan, although he swapped duty with the primary member of Thunderbird 5, John. Whilst Alan is the most talented Astronaut, John has a passion for the stars- but it was established early on that John would not spend his entire time up in space, so himself and Alan swap on a rotary basis. John gets 2 months in TB5, then Alan gets 1 month. Both are adept at operating each other's craft.

Thunderbird 4, the underwater rescue vehicle, was piloted by the remaining Tracy brother- Gordon. Carried into rescue by Thunderbird 2, it was the only vehicle they had capable of performing an underwater rescue.

The 5 Tracy brothers were not the only other Tracy's on the Island though. Jeff's mother also resided there, though she tended to stay out of the way of Jeff's business, instead focusing on her many cooking projects that the family had famed her for. Making up the rest of the inhabitants were Kyrano, the family's trusted servant, and his daughter, Tin-Tin, who having completed University was now working as Brains' assistant in the labs on Tracy Island. Scott, so in depth in his mind, almost didn't realise Virgil and Gordon had returned from their test runs, but returned they had. Soon, International Rescue would be operational, and have their first rescue operation. He wondered exactly what it would be.

The harsh sun beat down on the tarmac at London International Airport. It was a hot summer's day; Even hotter than usual. The temperature in the air read an almighty 33oc. That was not going to stop anybody, least of all the passengers boarding the maiden flight of Air Terrainean's new atomic powered airliner, _Fireflash._ It was a big deal in the world of aviation- after all, Fireflash was the world's first aircraft powered solely by Nuclear power. With all 600 passengers now onboard, it was down to the crew to take Fireflash from their current station in London, all the way to San Francisco in America. At a top speed of Mach 6, it would be the shortest ever recorded flight for that route. Entrusted in taking Fireflash from A to B was Captain Hanson, an experienced pilot in every sense, and Lieutenant Matthews, a former helicopter pilot in the British Military, and Co-Pilot to Hanson for Fireflash. Up in the control room, the entire flight control was being handled by Controller Norman, and his assistant Aaron Svensson.  
"London Control from Fireflash" Was the first message over the radio, courtesy of Captain Hanson. "We've completed all pre-flight checks. All systems are green. Request permission to take off."  
"Fireflash from London Control. You have permission to proceed. Use runway 2-5."  
"Understood London. I guess we'll see you on the other side of the pond."  
"You'll have Controller Stevens to put up with then" Norman joked. "But either way, this is your maiden flight. Make it a good one."  
"Roger that London. Fireflash over and out."

It had taken time to plan, but now The Hood was in place. He laughed at that nickname, which had been given to him once by a rogue General due to the number of disguises he would use, and it had stuck with him. Now, The Hood was going to use one of those many disguises to draw out International Rescue- he had needed to target something big, and what better target than a Military Research centre. He read the large sign above the entry to the base- _NOVA._ This would be the perfect target to draw them out.  
"I'm sorry" Came a voice from the distance. "I'm sorry sir, but this is for authorised personnel only. You're going to have to move on."  
"No problem" The Hood said calmly, and stared straight into the eyes of the security guard, his own eyes lighting up a bright yellow. It took only seconds for the guard to collapse on the ground. He didn't know where his powers had come from, but his ability to disable and disorientate people had always come in handy. Now, with security out of the way, he could proceed. The Nova complex itself was a large chemical research facility, so why not steal something whilst you're here? He walked, purposefully, down the expansive corridors, looking for a room that might just hold what he was looking for. Suddenly, a technician turned the corner to face him. With nowhere to go, The Hood was forced to stare him down as he did the guard, defeating him just before he could get to his mobile alarm. Continuing, The Hood finally came across a door that interested him. He didn't know what was in it, but it had plenty of warning symbols that told him it could be important. He tried the door- it was open, so he went inside. What faced him was a set of controls and screens, and infront of him was a glass panel, separating him from 3 people in the adjacent room. It didn't take him long to realise what the controls did, and what he needed to do. Slowly, carefully, he turned the dial marked 'Oxygen' to zero, and flicked the switch to 'Air Release'. He didn't want to drain the air too quickly though- no, he needed them to still be alive when International Rescue arrived, so he set the release to 'Slow'. The next step was easy; He initiated a full system shutdown. As soon as he hit enter, red alarm sirens started to scream, and thick metal doors slid into place around the research team. They were trapped- and, to make sure it would stay that way, he smashed the console, sending a shower of sparks up into the air as the system went into meltdown.  
"Who the hell are you!?" Came a shout from the door. Another guard. Knowing he didn't have time for his powers to be put to use, The Hood pulled his pistol from his belt and put two in the guard's chest, then promptly ran for the hills.

The party was in full swing on Tracy Island. Well, it wasn't so much an actual party as an excuse for Jeff to start barbequing again. If there was one thing Jeff enjoyed when not overseeing the finalisation of IR, it was putting on a good barbeque. The boys were all out, with the exception of John up in the Space Station, enjoying the food and the music they had put on, kicking back in shorts and T-Shirts, despite the fact it was now night over Tracy Island. They all knew very well that this could be the last time they have something like this, with John up in Thunderbird 5 ready to start listening for distress calls. With most of the food having been eaten, they were all just sat around the pool, joking with each other about the things they might face.  
"Old lady stuck in a tree" Virgil suggested, which brought laughs from the group.  
"Drowned fish" Was Scott's contribution, and everyone looked at Gordon.  
"I did not sign up for this just to save somebody's fish." He replied to their stares. "If I'm going down in Thunderbird 4, it best be a shark."  
"I'm just waiting for someone to call us at half 3 in the morning because they're snowed in." Virgil said.  
"Get Alan on the snowplough!"  
"Hell no, I'll probably be too busy up in orbit clearing space crap so half the world can watch that pirate TV station."  
"You mean like Tin-Tin?" Scott enquired, and there was more laughter. It didn't last long. They could all hear their father's phone going off, and the fact he answered meant it was someone important. After waiting for 5 minutes, Jeff called them all inside.  
"Boys, I've just been on the phone with Bob Langley-"  
"You mean Colonel Langley, the guy that helped us set up International Rescue?" Scott asked.  
"Yes, exactly. 20 minutes ago, someone broke into one of his research labs in England and now 3 people are trapped inside, and they can't get them out."  
"Does this mean?..." Alan asked tentatively.  
"Yes Alan, International Rescue has its first ever assignment."  
Suddenly, there was a series of beeps coming from one of the portraits on the wall- each of the 5 boys had their picture, in IR uniform, on the wall, linked to their video-radio, and John's was going off.  
"I've been listening in on your conversation father" He began, "You may just want to wait on that first ever rescue."

 _15 Minutes Earlier_

"We are now leaving London airspace" Matthews commented as Fireflash flew over the English Coastline.  
"Right on schedule too. All systems are still operational which is a bonus."  
"Can you imagine if something went wrong on our maiden flight? At least we'd be guaranteed to make the news."  
As if on cue, a red warning started to flash on the control panel.  
"You just had to say it Matthews" Hanson commented, "You just had to say it."  
"What's wrong?"  
"Hydraulic pressure has dropped slightly. Doesn't look like anything to worry about but I'll run a diagnostic."  
After the press of a few buttons, Fireflash gave Hanson its readout.  
"The problem is originating in the landing gear... I probably should go and check it out, just in case."  
"You do know Norman will have a fit if he finds out you built a passageway into the wings of Fireflash?" Matthews asked sarcastically, and Hanson brushed him off.  
"I'll be 5 minutes, max."

After making his way into the wing, Hanson started to look for the problem. It was weird being inside the wing during flight; He'd only ever been in it with the plane on the ground. Now, he was trying to find a problem that could be dozens of little things. Cautiously, he moved round to the landing gear mechanism, being careful not to trip over the mass of wiring on the floor. As soon as he saw it, his mouth dropped.  
"Matthews... We have a situation down here."  
"You found the problem? Have we blown a gasket or something?"  
"No. It's far more serious than that." Hanson took a deep breath. "Matthews, get on the radio with London Control. Somebody has strapped a bomb to our landing gear."

"So that's the situation with Fireflash father" John concluded. "If they try to land then it'll set the bomb off, and not only will 600 people lose their lives, but it would spread radioactive material over half of London.  
"Can't they just try and remove the bomb?" Scott asked.  
"No. The bomb has a locking mechanism. If it's moved, then it'll detonate."  
"This makes it difficult, but we have no other choice." Jeff said, "We're going to have to split the team into 2 and attempt the rescues simultaneously." He gathered the 4 boys together, whilst John watched from his screen.  
"What's the plan father?" Virgil asked.  
"Fireflash is the one that'll need heavy rescue. The only option I see is to take the Elevator Cars and use them as a cushioned landing, in the hope it won't set off the bomb, so you'll need Thunderbird 2 and equip pod 3."  
"Right father."  
"Alan, you'll go with Virgil and set up mobile control at London Airport. You'll be the one co-ordinating the rescue from inside the control tower. Scott, you and Gordon take Thunderbird 1 and head for Nova research centre. John will fill you in on the details whilst you're in the air, but you'll need to take the cutting gear."  
"FAB."  
"These are our first rescues." Jeff reminded them. "Let's make sure they're a success."

The swimming pool, one of Tracy Island's biggest features, was now deserted. Slowly, it began to retract, disappearing into an unseen gap in the side of the ground. Now in its place was a deep chasm, one which led to a launch pad underground. Sitting on that launch pad was International Rescue's primary vehicle, Thunderbird 1. Now, with both Scott and Gordon onboard, they were beginning launch procedure, ready to blast off into the sky and over to England. As Scott mapped the internal countdown in his head, he began pressing buttons and pulling levers: The rocket motors fired up, charging to full capacity, the side supports fell away and the wings retracted. Meanwhile, on the other side of the Island, a rock face on the side of one of the many mountains fell away, only to reveal yet another hangar. As the dust settled, Thunderbird 2 proudly drove through the gap and into the outside world. The palm trees that lined the runway fell away, leaving TB2 to proceed right to the edge of the island. As Virgil turned the power up to full blast and readied the jets, the launch pad elevated, tilting the craft upwards, a blast protector swinging up behind them. Both crafts waited until everything was in place, and then, together, they launched, their powerful thrusters forcing them into the skies. Within seconds both craft had left Tracy Island, off on their first ever missions.  
"You're worried about them, aren't you Mr Tracy?" Kyrano asked, both of them looking out over the balcony.  
"Of course I'm worried Kyrano, but we have been leading up to this moment for months. Now it's time we give something back."  
"They are good kids, they will not let you down."  
"You're right about that Kyrano. I just hope we're not too late."

He was watching on an embankment, right outside the facility. Having escaped the pathetic excuse they had for security, he was now watching, waiting for International Rescue to finally arrive. Once they did, he _would_ have their secrets, and there's nothing they could do to stop him.

"International Rescue to Nova centre, this is Thunderbird 1. I am now overflying the research facility and request permission to land."  
"International Rescue, you have permission to land. Use the car park outside the main entrance."  
"Understood." Scott replied, firing up the retros and lowering TB1's altitude. As soon as he found a suitable spot, he brought the craft down fully, then disembarked along with Gordon. He found someone waiting for him at the door as he made his way to the facility.  
"International Rescue I take it? I'm Dr Slater. I'm in charge of this facility; Chief Overseer is my technical title but I'm basically in charge."  
"How is the situation?"  
"Not good. There are 3 blast doors between us and the people trapped in the chamber, and we still haven't been able to get through the first one. We tried explosives, but that had no effect, and the entire system is offline so we can't disable the shutdown electronically. Whoever came in here locked down the entire centre, then smashed the console and killed one of our guards whilst escaping. We've sent for a new console, but it won't get here before the air runs out."  
"Did you get all that Brains?" Scott said, holding his radio in his hand.  
"I g-got all that Scott. I fear that wh-whoever initiated the attack may still b-be here."  
"That's a good point. Dr Slater, my organisation works on an operational basis and as such the details of it must remain secret. I need you to send guards out to protect Thunderbird 1, and it must not be photographed."  
"I can appreciate that" Dr Slater said, "Grobzcyk, Halstridge! Take Unit 1 and protect the International Rescue crafts at all costs. Nobody is to get into that craft and nobody takes photos. Is that understood?" Both men nodded, and went on their way.  
"Is there any other way into the research chamber?" Gordon asked, getting back to the rescue.  
"The only other way would be through the control room, but that's protected by a sheet of indestructible glass. You fire a bullet at it, the bullet flies back at you. It can withstand the pressure of 2 superimposed Category 5 hurricanes and lava won't even leave it with a burn mark."  
"T-That's that option out of the q-question then" Brains answered. "What are the blast doors made of?"  
"They're built using a Technetium-Aluminium alloy, that's what makes them so solid."  
"T-Technetium? Do you have any SRXE is your l-lab?"  
"Why yes we do." Slater responded. "Why?"  
"I think I might just have an idea."

 **TO BE CONTINUED**


	2. Thunderbirds Are Go, Part II

**THUNDERBIRDS ARE GO PT II**

"London International Airport from International Rescue, I am approaching you from the East and request permission to land."  
"International Rescue?" Controller Norman asked quizzically. "Who in blazes are International Rescue?" He then reopened the radio link. "International Rescue, what is the purpose of your organisation? We need more information before we grant you permission to land."  
"Name kind of gives it away" Virgil muttered, causing Alan to laugh in the back, but Virgil continued. "London, there are 600 people up the air that you cannot bring down without causing a major emergency- you may not have the equipment but we do. We're the only hope of saving everyone onboard."  
Norman took a moment to think, but soon came to his decision. "OK International Rescue, you have permission to land. What is your plan of action?"  
"Before we begin" Virgil said, making sure he was in control, "I need your assurance that there will be no photographs taken of my organisation's aircraft. It is imperative that our operational details remain confidential. Secondly, I need an open link channel to Fireflash so that we can co-ordinate the rescue."  
"Understood International Rescue." He turned to his colleagues. "Svensson, get airport police on the phone, make sure the International Rescue craft is protected at all times." He then turned back to his radio station. "Fireflash from London control, I am going to be putting you through to an open radio channel- we may just have a solution to your situation."  
"Roger London." Hanson replied. "Fireflash standing by."  
"Fireflash from International Rescue, can you give me a full overview of your current situation?"  
"International Rescue?" Matthews questioned, but Hanson ignored him.  
"I'm going to guess you know the main points of our situation: The main problem is our radiation shielding. Whilst we could stay up here for 6 months with these Atomic engines, our radiation shielding is going to need replacing in... 12 minutes, otherwise we're done for. We can't bring our landing gear down without detonating the bomb, we can't set up an emergency landing because the resistive friction will be enough to set off the bomb, and we can't stay up here for much longer either."  
"If we were to land Fireflash on a set of moving platforms, and take away the resistive friction, would you be able to land without setting off the bomb?" Virgil asked, having now landed Thunderbird 2.  
"I suppose it would be a better option than any of the others." Hanson conceded. "Is that your plan?"  
"It's our best option." Virgil then turned to Alan. "Alan, head down to the control centre and set up a mobile control, I'll go configure the elevator car pods."  
"FAB Virgil." Alan said, disappearing into the back of the craft as he made his way out.

The Hood had been waiting for this very moment. He opened up the bag he had stashed in the grass, and pulled out the guard uniform. They were expecting security to guard Thunderbird 1, but he was going to be doing quite the opposite. Quietly and inconspicuously, he made his way down to the cordoned off zone; With his uniform and mask on, nobody gave him a second look until he reached the entrance to the craft.  
"Hey" The guard said, "I don't recognise you. You must be new here?"  
"Yes" The Hood said, "Of course. I was instructed to stand guard, inside the aircraft by our superiors."  
"Yeah, I don't think so. Show me your identification... Identi... Id..." The words trailed off as the guard started to lose consciousness, The Hood's yellow, piercing eyes draining his energy. As soon as the guard dropped to the floor, The Hood stepped inside, and took it all in.

"The automatic camera detector!" Scott shouted, "Somebody is photographing the instrument panels of Thunderbird 1!"  
"Security we have a breach" Slater said down his radio, "Somebody is photographing the International Rescue craft, they must be apprehended immediately." Slater left the radio channel open for a response, when suddenly there was gunfire, the bullet noise echoing around the room.  
"Dr Slater... This is Grobzcyk. The intruder, blasted his way past us and stole one of the research helicopters, heading North. We're 2 men KIA, Halstridge is badly hurt too..."  
"Gordon!" Scott commanded, "Stay here and keep preparing the SRXE and cutting gear for rescue. We've got to stop the person who took those photos and make sure he can't cause any more damage."  
"I'm going to take a team outside" Slater said, gathering men.  
"What are the current Oxygen levels inside the chamber?" Gordon asked, before Slater had left.  
"26%. And it's falling faster all the time."

Lady Penelope sat in her chair, cigarette in one hand and wine glass in the other, taking in her expansive living area. It had always amazed her how big it actually was, and she was forever finding new rooms or passageways, each with its own secrets. Life had been quite quiet recently- she hadn't had a visitor for a couple of weeks, and none of the organisations she was a patron for had required her for an activity in the same time. She was dying for some action soon.  
"I 'ope I'm not disturbing you, m'lady?" Came a voice from the doorway. It was Parker, her butler. He was quite possibly the last person you would expect to be a butler, with him being an expert safecracker and burglar, but after she had caught him trying to break into her Mansion, she decided to give him a chance at redemption, and so far he hadn't let her down. Besides, his connections into the criminal underworld were invaluable.  
"Not at all Parker" She said softly. "What is the problem?"  
"International Rescue are calling for you m'lady, shall I let the call through?"  
"Of course Parker." She switched on her pocket transceiver. "Lady Penelope to International Rescue, how may I be of assistance?"  
"Lady Penelope" Came Scott's voice from the other end, "Somebody has taken off in a helicopter with photographs of Thunderbird 1 and is heading in your direction, request that you stop this person escaping at all costs."  
Finally, she though, there was going to be some action. "Of course Scott, I'll be on it right away." She stood up and turned to Parker, stubbing out her cigarette. "Parker, get the Rolls. We're going on a little assignment."

Alan was now up in the control room of London Airport, with Virgil down in the pod finishing the setup of the Elevator Cars.  
"How's it going down there?" Alan asked, impatient to get the rescue started.  
"I'm almost there, the remote Elevator Cars need to configure themselves and then I'll be ready."  
"Well hurry up Virgil, we don't have long left."  
"I know. 4 minutes. I've been counting." There was a pause- Alan didn't know how to respond- but fortunately Virgil broke the silence, a triumphant cry as the Elevator Cars burst into life.  
"Thunderbirds are go!" He screamed buoyantly as the cars drove out of the pod and onto the runway.  
"OK Fireflash" Alan said over the radio, "The Elevator Cars are in place. Begin final approach to London Airport, use runway 2-9."  
"Bring crash crews to the centre of 2-9" Norman added.  
"Message understood" Hanson said, preparing the controls to land. "The radiation safety factor is down to just 2 minutes, so we only have one attempt at this. Our lives are in your hands now International Rescue."

Scott and Gordon emerged from the lab, packed with enough equipment to take down the entire building. Gordon, with a giant tank hooked onto his uniform, was carrying an industrial hose, whilst Scott had 3 gas canisters strapped to his back and 2 plasma torch cutters. Dr Slater had joined them with a battering ram, all 3 of them dressed head to toe in fireproof Hazmat suits.  
"You ready to do this?" Scott asked Slater as they proceeded to the first door.  
"You bet I'm ready."  
"What's the Oxygen readouts now?" Gordon asked next.  
"We're down to 8%. They're beginning to lose consciousness."  
"Then we have to move quickly."  
They got to the first blast door. It stood there, a dull silver block of pure solidity, standing between them and the trapped researchers. Gordon stood up first, angling the hose at the door.  
"Do it!" Scott said, and Gordon unleashed the full power of the SRXE at the door.  
"It's working!" Slater said triumphantly, thick white smoke filling the room as the chemicals reacted with the Technetium in the door, the structure weakening as the seconds went on.  
"Hurry up, come on!" Scoot said, impatiently waiting for the smoke to clear. As soon as it did, he switched the gas tanks up to full burn, and blasted the door with over 5000oC of pure thermal energy. As the metal began to give way, Scott started to draw an arc- a doorway large enough that they would be able to fit through.  
"Now!" Scott commanded, and Slater smashed the battering ram through the door. The Aluminium, now no longer under Technetium support, shattered, and they could get through.  
"International Rescue" Slater said once they were through. "We're down to 3%. We have just 2 minutes left."

"International Rescue from Fireflash, Air speed is 127 knots, crosswind 13mph, ETA 30 seconds."  
"Virgil" Alan transmitted on reception of Fireflash's message, "Increase tracking speed to 109"  
"FAB" He replied, kicking the elevator cars into another gear. He could hear Fireflash behind him as it got nearer, and nearer. Soon, its shadow had fallen over the elevator cars themselves.  
"OK Fireflash" Virgil said, "Standby. Standby... Cut engines!" Up in the aircraft, Hanson and Matthews simultaneously hit their kill buttons, and Fireflash dropped on top of the elevator cars- "Fireflash, reverse thrust" Then, for effect, "Now!"  
"We're still moving too fast, we're not going to stop in time" Matthews said, but Hanson remained determined. There was a sudden high pitched squeal as Virgil locked up the tyres on all 3 elevator cars, the brakes attempting to slow them down as much as possible. They slid down the runway, and it soon became clear they weren't going to stop before they ran out of tarmac.  
"Brace yourselves!" Virgil shouted as they shot over the edge and into the grass. The sudden increase in friction vaulted the lead elevator car's rear into the air. Fireflash, however, kept going, showering the ground with sparks as the front end scraped against the vertically positioned elevator car. Then, just as the remote elevator cars hit the dirt, everything stopped. They were all still alive.

Somehow, the thick smoke was getting even thicker, but the progress was not getting any faster. Scott cut through the metal panel as quickly as he could, Slater waiting impatiently to smash it in.  
"How much longer?"  
"Now!"  
They were onto the last door. As they entered the final chamber, Slater's watch started beeping.  
"What is that?" Gordon asked.  
"That's the Oxygen gauge. It's hit zero."  
"Then we're going to have to move" Scott said, getting in position. Just as before, Gordon let loose with the SRXE and Scott torched his way through what was left of the door, when suddenly everything stopped.  
"I'm out of gas!" Scott shouted. "We used so much on the other two doors that I have none left."  
"We're going to just have to go for it." Gordon said, and Slater rammed the door. It cracked, but didn't break.  
"Again!" Scott shouted, but again it didn't get through.  
"One last time" Gordon said as he joined Slater in holding the battering ram. Taking a run up, they threw themselves at the door, and broke straight through it.  
Scott ran into the room behind them, "Let's get these people out of here!"

The Rolls-Royce shot down the motorway, a pink blur amongst the trees that lined the roadway. Looking out of her window, Lady Penelope could see the helicopter, used by their unknown assailant in his escape, across the field from them but high in the sky. Thanks to the tracking device installed inside the chopper, she and Parker had been able to follow it all the way there.  
"Are you able to get a shot Parker?" Lady P asked, growing slightly impatient. They had been following it for 15 minutes now, and she was sure that whoever was piloting it would realise something was up sooner or later.  
"No m'lady" Parker responded. "I'm afraid he's too 'igh up to get a good shot."  
"In that case Parker, I believe it is time for plan B"  
"Of course your Ladyship." Parker agreed, pulling over to the side of the road. He popped the boot open, and pulled out a Rocket Propelled Grenade launcher.  
"Parker! When I asked you to bring a missile, that's not what I had in mind."  
"Sorry m'lady, but this is all I could find." Parker replied, kneeling down. He waited until the helicopter was just about to pass, tracking it carefully, then pulled the trigger, falling flat on his back as the rocket flew into the air. Penelope watched as it spiralled in flight; It got closer, and closer, then hit the helicopter bang on the rear rotor, the force of impact tearing off the entire tail section. It hit the ground with an almighty bang, and within seconds was engulfed in flames.  
"Right Parker, let's see what we can recover from the crash site."

Controller Norman had been waiting patiently for everyone to return, but now they had he could get down to business. As Virgil, Hanson and Matthews walked into the room, he stood up to greet them.  
"Gentlemen. I'm glad to see that you're all OK. I must commend you International Rescue on the fine job you did saving Fireflash. I'll admit I was somewhat sceptical at first, but you more than proved yourself. Now onto the second order of business. Whilst you were making your way up here, we had someone look over the bomb. They recovered a set of fingerprints." He pointed straight at Matthews. "They were yours." Suddenly, all eyes we on the co-pilot. He looked at all of them, but with no way out, he had no option. He reached into his waistband and pulled out his gun, and pointed it at his temple.  
"Will no!" Hanson shouted. "Don't do it."  
"Why not?" He responded, calmly. "I failed. It's over."  
"Over? Will for god's sake, what could have possibly achieved by doing this?"  
"What could I have achieved? That aircraft is a disaster waiting to happen! I've been in war, nuclear war. I've seen my friends killed by atomic weaponry, AND YOU PUT IT INTO AN AIRCRAFT!"  
"600 people could have died, and you would have sacrificed all of them for this!?"  
"Nobody cares when somebody dies at war, so I had to make a scene. I had to make sure people knew! They had to know!" He screamed, and pointed the gun directly at Hanson, fingers curled around the trigger. Two shots went off, and the whole room went silent, broken only with a thud as Matthews hit the floor. Everyone looked round to Virgil Tracy, his own gun shaking in his hands.  
"I'm sorry" He said, "But I had to."

The sun was rising on Tracy Island, though naturally nobody had been able to get any sleep. The boys were all gathered in their living area, along with Jeff and Colonel Langley. John, not wanting to miss the party, was watching through his communicator.  
"I want to thank all of you boys" Langley began. "What you did out there, both at my research facility and at London Airport are nothing more than heroic. You saved lives, and you should be proud of that. I didn't know what I was investing in when I helped you all set up, but now I do. Gentlemen, I believe International Rescue is now in business!"  
"I can go with that!" Scott said, and they all cheered.  
"I believe this is my cue to leave before people wonder where I am" Langley said, and both he and Jeff exited. That left just the boys.  
"Well I don't know about you, but I feel this calls for a celebration" Scott said, heading over to his father's desk. He opened the top draw, pulled out a set of Cuban cigars and a bottle of whiskey.  
"Well you can count me in" Virgil said, lighting his and the rest of his brothers' cigars with his handy pocket lighter. "You know dad's going to kill us when he realises we've stolen half his cigar collection."  
"Not if we find a way to replace them first... Alan, Gordon. Can I tempt you with some of dad's finest whiskey?"  
"No, we've got something much classier" Gordon said, pulling a bottle of champagne from behind the sofa. Scott grinned, impressed at Gordon's hiding skills.  
"What about you John?" Alan asked to John on the monitor.  
"I'm sticking to a good, old fashioned beer" He replied, holding up his bottle.  
"I forgot you had a stash up there with you." Virgil said, saluting his brother.  
"Well I think I should propose a toast" Scott said, climbing onto the table. "To International Rescue- we started our operation with a bang, and long may it continue!"  
"To International Rescue!" They all chorused.

In that moment, they all knew they had started something special.


	3. Project Atlantis

**PROJECT ATLANTIS**

The sun was out over Tracy Island, a signal that another beautiful summer's day was upon them. Despite it being just 7 in the morning, Scott was already out by the pool, laying down and enjoying his breakfast. Almost 48 hours had passed since their first double rescue, but nothing else had come their way. Of course, despite the news coverage of 'Who is International Rescue', there were plenty of people around the world who still had no idea who they were. That would all come with time- for now, John was up in Thunderbird 5 listening out for any potential situations that could need their help, but as of yet everything seemed to be in hand.  
"You're up a bit early?" Came a voice from behind Scott. He didn't need to turn round to know that it was Tin-Tin.  
"Well, you're up just as early as I am." He responded as she came down to the pool to join him.  
"It's a lovely day today." Tin-Tin remarked. "Might be a nice time to go down to the beach for a while."  
"Would be a nicer day to me if we were out saving the world."  
"All in good time Scott, once people know the name of International Rescue, you'll have plenty of distress calls."  
"Well somebody already knew who were we" Scott said, "Lady Penelope never found a body at the crash site either. Parker reckons that whoever was in it managed to escape just before it went up in flames."  
"They managed to recover the film though?"  
"Yeah, or at least what was left of it. Nobody could use it in that state. Still, I can't help shake the feeling that the attack on Nova was intended for us. Somebody wanted to draw us out."  
"Well Penelope said she's tell us if she found anything, so stop worrying. Enjoy your breakfast, you're wasting sunlight."

The trail had led her to a warehouse- it looked abandoned, but she couldn't be sure. After consulting with Dr Slater, Penelope had mapped out the maximum distance the helicopter would have been able to do, along with anything of interest along the route. As it turned out, this industrial warehouse was the only thing that actually existed along the route, unless he had been looking to park it in the middle of a field.  
"Find anything h'interesting, m'lady?" Parker asked as he crossed the room, also surveying the area.  
"Not yet Parker, but we did only just get here." She replied, walking over to one of the many cabinets. "It seems this place has been deserted for a while."  
"I wouldn't be so sure of that m'lady. Found some tyre tracks over here. Oil and grease too."  
"How intriguing." Lady P responded. She attempted to open the first cabinet, but it was locked, so she moved onto the next one. With one almighty whack the door flew open, but inside looked empty. All she could find was a piece of scrap paper. "What's this then?" She asked herself. The paper had writing on it, but Penelope couldn't work out what it said. "Parker, come and have a look at this."  
"Of course, m'lady" He responded, and joined her. He gave the paper a quick once over, then handed it back. "I believe this is sort h'of letter"  
"I do believe you could be right Parker. What does it say?"

 _To 'The Hood', as you still like to call yourself,_

 _I am writing on behalf of a group of clients very interested in a proposition you made to an acquaintance of mine. Whilst we remain sceptical that such an organisation as 'International Rescue' exists, we would very much like to be at the front when you receive the information you require to make a transaction. Should the technology you describe genuinely exist, then my group would be willing to pay above market rates to acquire it exclusively. Do not let us down._

 _With Love,  
Scarlett_

"Take the letter back to FAB 1 Parker" Lady Penelope said, "I have a video call that I have to make."  
As Parker walked off, she brought out her compact receiver. Turning it on, she initiated a call to Tracy Island...  
"Jeff, it's Lady Penelope. I have some leads on our mystery man you may be interested in."  
"Go ahead Penny" Jeff replied. He was, as usual, sitting at his desk, ready in case John came through with any emergency calls.  
"Myself and Parker have tracked his movements to an abandoned Industrial complex just south of Birmingham. After finding a letter, I now believe the person we are looking for is known as 'The Hood', and that he was readying a business deal to sell off your technology at the highest price."  
"Wow... Well thank you Penny" Jeff said, rather stunned. "I'll send this information on to Colonel Langley, see if he has any knowledge of this character."  
"F.A.B. Jeff" Penelope said, and switched off the link. Jeff meanwhile sat there, shocked. Hundreds of questions were going through his head- Just how close had International Rescue come to being compromised on their first ever mission? If 'The Hood' was still alive, would he try again to photograph their craft and hence put more lives at risk? And how the hell did he already know about International Rescue's existence before they had begun operations? For now, they were questions he wouldn't be able to answer, but hopefully Colonel Langley would have more luck with the contacts he has at his disposal. He would likely have to wait until the Navy Sea Trials were over to ask, but that gave him more time to try and make sense of everything that was going on.

In the vast Atlantic ocean, there was one small, dark dot sitting on top of the water, riding the high cresting waves and extreme breeze that rocked it back and forth. The _USS Gonzales_ , a monstrous battle cruiser that was 1km in length and 300m wide, not only was it the most almighty of warships, but it also acted as the central hub for the North American Navy Sea Trials. Everything, from state of the art sonar equipment to supersonic jet fighters could be found somewhere on the ship- and all of this was under the command of one man, Commander Julian Storm.  
"Mason!" He bellowed from the large platform at the top of the Command centre. The entire room was a hive of activity, with everyone focused on separate, yet interlinked, naval projects.  
"Yes Commander Storm" Mason answered, looking up from his station.  
"What is the status of the Stealth Submarines? They're not showing up on my scanner."  
"All stealth ships have been launched sir, they're in the water waiting."  
"Excellent, that means the cloaking is working. Set Project Atlantis onto them."  
"Right away Commander."  
Commander Storm went back to his control console. From there he could oversee everything that was going on- but, out of everything, Project Atlantis was the thing he was most proud of. A submarine built like an underwater tank, it was the biggest, toughest underwater machine they had in their arsenal. And, with revolutionary radar reflection software, it was able to detect anything in its path, even cloaked stealth vehicles, which is exactly what it was doing now.  
"Targets 300m and closing" Mason said to no-one in particular, knowing Storm would likely hear it anyway. "200m and closing... 100m and closing... Targets locked, firing missiles!"  
"Well?" Storm asked, expectantly.  
"All targets have been successfully destroyed sir" Mason shouted out, and Storm gave himself a little fist pump celebration.  
"OK Mason, bring Atlantis back to base." This was, in Storm's opinion, the best part about his creation- it was completely unmanned. The only person controlling it was safe back here on the Gonzalez; Why send people into war if you didn't have to? Storm took another look at his control board, watching the pieces float around. But then he spotted something; Atlantis was still heading away from them.  
"Mason, I told you to bring Atlantis back here."  
"I am sir" He replied, confused.  
"Well you're not, Atlantis is still heading towards the mainland."  
Mason began fiddling around with the controls, but he could tell something was up. "Commander Storm, Atlantis is not responding to my controls."  
"What?!"  
"I've lost control with Atlantis Sir, it's set a collision course for New York City, and I can't stop it."

It had suddenly gone all quiet on Tracy Island. Scott was asleep on a lilo floating in the pool, Virgil and Gordon were out shooting targets in the gun range, Alan and Tin-Tin were god knows where doing god knows what, Brains was in the lab working on his new project, a relief drone, and Kyrano was helping Grandma Tracy prepare for the day's lunch. That left Jeff alone at his desk with nothing but his cigar to keep him company. No matter how he put it, all he could think about was who was trying to steal their secrets. He'd be lying if he said he hadn't considered shutting the entire operation down, but he knew that it wouldn't solve anything. No, he had to trust the people around him, like Lady Penelope and Colonel Langley. He was just about to get into another train of thought, but something stopped him, a load, consistent beeping noise... John's portrait!  
"Go ahead John, it's nice to finally hear from you."  
"It's nice to have something to speak to you about. There's a situation in the Atlantic Ocean, of the coast of New York that I've been keeping an eye on. We may just have our next rescue mission."

"Are you sure there's nothing you can do?" Storm asked. Having now walked down to join Mason at his control station, he was trying to help the situation.  
"The controls are completely dead. No matter what I do, Atlantis won't change course."  
"Have you mapped its course?"  
"I have" Mason then zoomed out, revealing more of the surrounding landscape. "If Atlantis continues on its present course, it will collide with the Brooklyn outer limits. Unfortunately, that's not the end of it- at the speed Atlantis is going, hitting that wall is going to produce enough force that it would detonate the atomic reactor and wipe out half of New York."  
"Can we send anything out, try to stop Atlantis using force?" Storm asked, suddenly worried that he may have built Atlantis a bit **too** good.  
"No" Mason replied. "We're too far away. Even with the fastest sub on the base, it wouldn't get there in time."  
"We have to do something. Think man, we must think of something."

"So that's the situation father" John said, finishing his explanation of the situation in the Atlantic. "As far as I can tell, their sub is heading on a collision course with New York and they can't seem to stop it. I believe they're preparing to send a submersible drone to try and jam the frequency, just in case its control has been taken over by someone else, but it doesn't look too hopeful."  
"OK John, thank you." Jeff replied.  
"Shall we call everyone else back in?"  
"I don't know John, this is a tricky position to be in. The Navy have their own ways of doing things and we might not be welcome to interrupt that, especially if this Submarine houses top secret technology. I'll bring in the boys and brief them, but I think we should wait and see how their drone attempt goes before launching."  
"Understood father, I'll be standing by up here."

The jewels, spread around the temple, shimmered in the blazing sunlight. The Hood had always admired jewellery, precious stones and anything shiny that had value. It made him feel special, powerful. Most of them were part of payments for jobs, or gifts from long time allies. His favourite, a giant green emerald set in pure gold, had been a gift from Scarlett. If he could call anyone a favourite client, it would be Scarlett. So far he had not failed her, and he would not fail her. She wanted the secrets of International Rescue and he would deliver them to her.  
"You're staring at my Emerald again, aren't you?" Came a voice from behind the curtains. It was a rule that nobody could enter the main chamber of The Hood's temple, one people respected. Nobody could see his true identity- anonymity was key. He didn't need to see her to know it was Scarlett.  
"Yes, yes I am."  
"The battlefield is changing my friend. Soon nobody will care about Emeralds and Sapphires. You're one of the last of a dying breed of criminal contractors, and I like that, but my clients aren't quite as sympathetic. We're now convinced by your efforts that International Rescue does in fact exist, and I want you to keep up the fight; If not for them them, for me. The battlefield **is** changing my friend, things have become far more complicated. Be careful, get it done."  
And with that, she was gone. And all that was left in her place was a small sapphire sitting on the temple floor.

The whir or the helicopter's rotor blades beat down on the water like a drum, throwing ripples out in melodic patterns. It stopped, steadied, waited for the signal.  
"The drone is in place to be dropped Commander."  
"Do it Mason."  
The drone hit the water with a splash, then began sinking down to its required depth. Slowly but surely it reached the sea bed, and began to hover just slightly above it.  
"I do hope this works Mason" Storm said, holding faith in his creation.  
"If anyone is using another frequency, this will stop it. Once Atlantis enters the wavelength reduction field given out by the drone, every signal other than the one being transmitted from USS Gonzales will be blocked out and we should have control again."  
"How long until contact?"  
"20 seconds. Atlantis is on approach to the zone."  
"This is it" Storm commented, "This is the moment of truth."  
"Atlantis is inside the zone!"  
"Do it" Storm commanded, and Mason forced each of his joysticks to the right, which should have taken Atlantis off course.

It didn't. It hadn't worked.

"Atlantis has exited the exclusion zone" Mason said, almost as quietly as he dared. Storm just turned away in anguish. He was used to failure, but not of this magnitude. Plus it ruled out a hostile takeover, which Storm had almost hoped it was. Hostile takeovers are easier to fix.  
"We have a strike satellite over the Atlantic, we could position to take out Atlantis with an orbital strike?" Mason suggested.  
"Out of the question!" Storm snapped. "There is no way we're detonating that atomic reactor in the middle of the Atlantic ocean! Not only would we be losing a $1B investment but it would pollute the entire New York water system with radioactive waste."  
"It's better than the sub detonating on New York itself."  
"It may be better but it isn't good enough. No, there's nothing we can do now; Someone else has to take over. I'm calling International Rescue."

John was sitting up in Thunderbird 5, chewing gum and sitting patiently at his station. He was trying to determine whether USS Gonzales had been successful, but the lack of radio traffic suggested otherwise. He opened up another packet of gum, ready to replace the set he'd been chewing for the past 2 hours. He made a mental note to get some more when he was back on Tracy Island, aswell as getting Virgil to help him smuggle more alcohol onboard. He couldn't smoke on Thunderbird 5 for safety reasons, but that didn't bother him that much, he was hardly like his father or Scott.  
"Calling International Rescue, calling International Rescue!" the speaker suddenly screeched, grabbing John's attention.  
"Looks like some action now" He said, moving over to the secondary command console. "This is International Rescue Space Station reading you loud and clear."  
"Thank God. My name is Commander Julian Storm of the United States Navy, and we need your help."  
"What is the situation Commander?"  
"We've lost control of one of our submarines, a top secret project codenamed Atlantis, and it's heading on a collision course with New York City with no way of stopping. We've tried everything we can but it's not stopping. And on top of that, Atlantis runs on a state of the art atomic reactor; At the speed it's going, the force of impact could cause the reactor to detonate and destroy New York."  
"Wow" John said, "That's serious. We'll be there as soon as possible, just hold tight and keep trying."  
John moved back over to his main console, and hit the transmission button to Tracy Island.  
"John!" Jeff answered. "Any news?"  
"I've just been talking to Commander Storm of the US Navy. The mission is a go."  
"Good. Scott, set off immediately for the USS Gonzales and set up a mobile command onboard after you rendezvous with Commander Storm. Virgil, take Gordon, Brains and Pod 4, Scott should give you Atlantis' co-ordinates once he lands. This is top priority rescue, the whole of New York is counting on us. Let's make sure we succeed."

Scott, having been a part of the Air Force before International Rescue had been created, had heard plenty of stories from his Navy friends about the USS Gonzales, but only now that he was hovering over it in Thunderbird 1 could he appreciate the immense size and power of the carrier warship. There was one good thing to its size though- he had plenty of room to set down Thunderbird 1. And, with this being a top secret ship itself, he wasn't overly worried about International Rescue's secrets being exposed to the world, though he had made Commander Storm perfectly aware of the situation. As he engaged the retro thrusters, he looked out to see that Storm was already waiting for him.  
"International Rescue?" He enquired once Scott had disembarked, which Scott affirmed for him. "It's good to see you. You should come with me down to the control room."  
"Understood. Our heavy rescue craft should be on the scene within the next 5 minutes."  
"Good, we don't have much time left."  
Storm led Scott down into the control room, which had now been mainly evacuated except for essential personnel.  
"Does Colonel Langley know about the situation?" Scott asked.  
"No. I felt it better not to get him involved unless absolutely necessary."  
"Well I think now might be necessary."  
Storm nodded his agreement, then moved him over to the central command console, where he introduced Mason.  
"It's nice to meet you...?" Mason said, extending a hand, though he didn't know Scott's name.  
"My name isn't important. Just call me International Rescue." Scott replied. "How's the situation?"  
"Honestly? Not good. Whilst Commander Storm was waiting for you to arrive I decided to try and map the impact area, and I found out it isn't the impact area at all."  
"What do you mean?" Storm asked.  
"It turns out that there's an underwater tunnel in that area that Atlantis will go straight into. It's known as the Leckritz Tunnel after the guy that accidentally discovered it."  
"Well I guess that gives us more time to fix the problem" Scott said.  
"Yes, but this tunnel ends right in the heart of New York. If you're unsuccessful and that Sub crashes, we're looking at a death and destruction total 3x what it was initially."  
"Well then we'll have to make sure we don't fail" Scott said, turning on his comms. "International Rescue to Thunderbird 2, what's your status?"  
"We're pretty much here" Virgil replied. "Gordon and Brains are onboard Thunderbird 4 and ready to drop."

Pod 4 hit the ocean with a great splash, throwing water high into the air. Once everything had settled down, the door to the pod began to slowly swing open, the mechanical systems whirring in operation. There, inside the pod, was International Rescue's very own yellow submarine.  
"All systems operational" Gordon said from the pilot's seat. "Thunderbird 4 is ready for launch."  
"FAB" Virgil replied. "Thunderbirds are go"  
"H-Here we go" Brains added, just as the internal rail extended into the water. After flicking the many switches above him into the 'on' position, Thunderbird 4 shot down the rail and straight into the water.  
"Thunderbird 2 and Mobile Control from Thunderbird 4, I'm under the ocean and ready for action."  
"You remember the plan, right Gordon?" Virgil asked sarcastically.  
"Oh yeah, I remember the plan" Gordon replied, with just as much sass. "Find the giant nuclear submarine, somehow get Brains into a wetsuit, then manually rewire the control board so that I control it from Thunderbird 4. Simple... enough."  
"You know I can h-hear you, right?" Brains asked from behind Gordon.  
"I'll leave you to it then" Virgil said. "See you after you save the world."  
Gordon went back to his controls, moving to the pre-determined destination. "Thunderbird 4 to Mobile control, quick question. Where actually is Atlantis?"  
"It should be right behind you" Scott replied, just as a giant shadow descended onto Thunderbird 4.  
"Yeah don't worry about it, I can definitely see it now. And my god is it big."  
"You think Atlantis is big, you should see the USS Gonzales."  
"Guys" Storm interjected. "I don't want to break up your conversation, but I'd quite like to stop my submarine destroying New York."  
"Don't worry" Gordon replied, "I'm right alongside Atlantis now. Brains, have you got your wetsuit on?"  
"Y-Yes Gordon, I'm ready to go."  
"Excellent news. I'm opening the hatch doors now- let's go stop a submarine."

Jeff stood leaning over the balcony, staring aimlessly into the water below. Despite his best efforts, he couldn't stop thinking about the rescue mission. He wondered if it would become a recurring theme- to always start to worry every time his boys went off on a mission. He was always so calm, so authoritative when conducting International Rescue with the boys there, but as soon as they left, they were on their own. Sure, he could radio them, but what use would it be? The most likely thing it would be is a distraction. No, he had to keep his faith. They were all talented kids, much more talented than himself, they would do it.  
"Are you OK Mr Tracy?" Came a voice from the doorway. Jeff turned around to find Tin-Tin standing there.  
"Yes, I'm fine Tin-Tin. Is Alan with you?"  
"He's in the kitchen making himself a drink." She said. Jeff couldn't help but notice she looked nervous, but then he must look nervous as hell himself, so he brushed it off.  
"How's the rescue going?"  
"Well: Scott, Virgil, Gordon and Brains are all in New York now. We won't know how the mission has gone until they radio back in. Right now anything could be happening."  
"I'm sure it's all going fine" Tin-Tin replied. "They've been practising for rescues since you brought them all back to the Island 6 months ago. I'm sure they know what they're doing."  
"You're probably right Tin-Tin, but I can't help but worry."  
"It's only natural I guess. I'd be lying if I said I didn't worry either. Anyway, I think I should go and check on how Alan's getting on with the drinks." And with that, Tin-Tin was gone.

"How did it go?" Alan asked when Tin-Tin joined him in the kitchen.  
"I couldn't do it Alan, I couldn't tell him. I just got so nervous..."  
"That's OK, we'll try another time. Your father is fine with it, so I'm sure that dad and my brothers will be cool with us being in a relationship too! We'll just have to find an opportunity when everyone is together to tell them. Don't worry, we won't have to hide it much longer, you'll see."

In a list of sights that Gordon had never expected to see, watching Brains float toward a giant Submarine in a wetsuit was up there with John downing an entire bottle of Vodka during their Poker tournament and Virgil diving off the roof of the house into the family pool whilst wearing his uniform after Alan had dared him. But there he was, alongside the sub, with Gordon alongside him. Brains, to his credit, was working as fast as he could whilst wearing gloves. He had just managed to open the access panel and disconnected all of the wires. Now all he had to do was attach the redirection module, and TB4 would have control. With his right hand he reached into his pocket for the module, whilst stabilising himself with his left. Steadily, he placed the module into the small opening within the panel. He was just about to twist it into the operating position when a sudden rush of water hit him as the sub went through a vortex. The marked change in pressure hit Atlantis like a hurricane, slamming the access panel straight into Brains' hand. Gasping in pain he released his grip on the module, which flew out into the open sea. Cursing under his breath, he went to grab his radio, but he couldn't- His hand wouldn't move. He tried to force the access panel back open, but no matter how hard he tried, it wouldn't budge. It was jammed shut. He tried and tried, but to no avail. Now he was not only riding along on a ticking time bomb, but he was stuck.

Gordon heard Brains' scream over the radio, and instantly started shouting down it, trying to ask if he was alright.  
"I-I'm OK Gordon, but I think we may need to go to p-plan B"  
"We have a plan B?"  
"We _don't_ have a plan B?"  
"No... what the hell happened there anyway, you sounded like your arm had just come off."  
"Close. I t-think we hit a water vortex, and the access panel has jammed shut on my hand. I've lost the module and I'm trapped on the s-submarine."  
"Can you see any way out?" Gordon asked, increasing his thrust power to pull up exactly alongside Brains. Brains himself started to look around to see if there was anything Gordon might be able to use to either free him or stop Atlantis. As he scanned the top of the submarine, something caught his eye. It was an antenna. Interesting...

"Thunderbird 4 to Mobile Control" Gordon said into his radio, once Brains had relayed his message.  
"Thunderbird 4!" Scott replied. "What's going on down there?"  
"We've hit a few problems- Brains is stuck, we've lost the module we've now just entered the underwater tunnel, which gives us only 5 minutes until we hit the end of the road, but we may have a solution. I'm going to pass you over to Brains"  
"C-Commander S-Storm?" Brains stuttered. "I'm looking at an antenna, dead centre of the Atlantis' top deck. Can you tell me its purpose?"  
"I can" Mason replied. "It's a Gold-Astatine radio receiver, so that I can control it from here."  
"You do know Astatine receivers don't work in water?"  
"Of course, which is why we gave it a radio-transparent housing."  
Brains looked back up at Atlantis. There was definitely no housing. "I'm afraid your antenna is very much exposed."  
"That would explain a lot" Storm said. "Atlantis must have taken its last command as gospel once it stopped receiving our instructions. What's your plan?" He directed at Brains.  
"Thunderbird 4 has an EMPG, the only option is to hit Atlantis with it and hope it stops in time."  
"Good luck Thunderbird 4" Scott said, then closed the channel. The EMP would fry their radios anyway, there was no point listening to static.  
"Are you ready Gordon?" Brains said, readying himself.  
"EMPG is online. I'm ready on your signal."  
"There's a wide open-ning in the tunnel soon, w-wait until we get... there... now!" As soon as Brains gave the signal, Gordon hit the button with all his force. The EMP hit Atlantis like a shockwave, killing all systems at once. The access panel trapping Brains flew open, the sudden change in momentum throwing him away from the sub and crashing into the tunnel wall. Atlantis itself dropped, hitting the sea bed and bouncing up.  
'It's not slowing down enough' Gordon thought, still beside it. He could see the end of the tunnel as Atlantis hit the sea floor again, throwing up stones into Gordon's path. Determined to stop it, Gordon side slammed into the stricken sub, forcing it into the side of the wall. It defelcted off and into the gravel again- but this time it hit it sideways, and the sudden increase in horizontal friction caused Atlantis to flip over. When it hit the floor again, all of its forward momentum had gone, and it slid to a halt. And, as Gordon finally looked, he realised they were just meters from the end of the tunnel.

Colonel Langley had a weird sense of humour. Having been informed International Rescue had just saved New York from one of his Submarines, he had offered to take Jeff and the boys, along with Brains and Tin-Tin, to dinner in the city as his way of saying Thank You. All of that was normal enough, until he revealed they would be eating at _La Misana Pizzeria_ , directly on top of where Project Atlantis had just come to rest.  
"I have a question" Langley directed at the table. "Why couldn't you have just hit Atlantis with an EMP straight away?"  
"Because we didn't know what the problem was" Scott replied. "If it had been a faulty reactor core, electrifying it could have send the submarine into meltdown."  
"Haven't you talked enough about work?" Jeff asked, "This is time to enjoy ourselves."  
"Of course Jeff, I was just curious is all. It's going to be a long day of paperwork tomorrow, sorting this mess out."  
"What actually happens now?" Virgil enquired.  
"We start Project Atlantis again, from scratch. There were some good concept in there, but we must ensure this never happens again. Fortunately Brains has offered to help us with the new design, and has already suggested replacing atomic power with Ion-Plasma cells, which after today I heartily agree with. Unfortunately, when something like this happens in the public eye somebody has to take the fall, and on this occasion Commander Storm has been relieved of his duties. He was a good friend, and I have no doubt our paths will cross again, but ultimately this was his project. There is good news to come out of this though- Mason has been offered a promotion to Captain, and the chance to lead Project Atlantis II. In the end, I'm just glad this City and its people were saved."  
"I wonder when the pizza's going to arrive?" Alan said, having just ignored everything Colonel Langley had said.  
"Don't worry Alan, I'm sure it'll arrive soon" Tin-Tin replied.  
"Yeah" Alan muttered under his breath, "Maybe I want it to arrive soon so we can make our bloody announcement." But before he could do anything, it was Colonel Langley that stood up.  
"Ladies and gentlemen" He said, addressing the entire restaurant. "4 days ago our planet was graced by an organisation that is as selfless in saving others as it is quick and decisive. They not only saved 600 people onboard Fireflash, but also 3 men, trapped in an airless room. Now, less than 24 hours ago they helped save the great city of New York from catastrophe. We don't know who they are or where they come from, but we know that, if our life is at risk, they will save us. I'd like to propose a toast, to International Rescue!"  
"TO INTERNATIONAL RESCUE!" The crowd cheered out, raising their glasses, yet they had no idea that the people who saved their lives were sitting in the very same room.


	4. Re-Entry

**RE-ENTRY**

Scott's head was clear, a blank canvas of thought. He pictured himself standing in a room of all white, that he could colour in any way. He often did this during his time in the Air Force, when all of the action was so intense he needed to detach himself from reality to bring himself back. Now he was doing it for International Rescue. It never lasted forever, soon he was right back where he left off, but for now he closed his eyes, took it all in, formulated his own plan. Then the explosion shattered his silence. It was so loud he shot up in his seat, but the piercing white light of the blaze was so blinding he had to turn Thunderbird 1 away from the danger zone- he rather cherished his sight. When he turned the craft back round, the entire cliffside was ablaze in an inferno of molten rock and poisonous gas. This was it then, the complex was finished.  
"Virgil!" He shouted down the radio, "Virgil, you have to get out of there now! The whole complex has just gone up!"  
"Yeah I know!" Virgil responded over the crackling radio link, the rocks causing an imbalance of interference. "I've managed to free the workers but this place is a maze and we can't find a way out."  
Another jet of fire shot up into the air, and Scott could see the entire cliff face begin to split into two.  
"Virgil, I give you about 30 seconds before this cliff splits in half, you have to get out of there now."  
"It's OK Scott, I've f...nd the main t...nnel, we're just exiting the co...lex n..w..."  
Virgil's voice trailed off as the interference grew too great for Scott to bear. Grimacing, he turned his radio off.

And the entire complex detonated.

The explosion hit Thunderbird 1 like a 40 tonne jackhammer, sending it spinning wildly off course. The sudden increase in g-force threw Scott out of his seat and against the roof of Thunderbird 1, snapping his neck back as he hit the top. He only blacked out for a couple of seconds, but when he came to, Thunderbird 1 was already spiralling towards the ground in a manic dive.  
"No!" He shouted, and tried to walk back to his seat, but stumbled to the floor as his brain rushed passed his body in a blurry head rush. "Aaaargh, come on Scott, you can do this!" He said, motivating himself as he dragged his body across the ground, and into his seat. Fumbling for his controls, he finally found his right hand seat lever, and pushed it into its maximum forward position, and Thunderbird 1 stopped dead in its tracks, hovering just a few metres above the ground. Scott let out a great sigh, slumping back in his seat in relief. Then a thought came into his head:  
"Virgil"  
"Right behind you" He responded. "We got out just in time. Looks like Thunderbird 1 took quite a beating from that explosion. Brains is going to love trying to fix that mess."  
"Thunderbird 1 wasn't the only thing to take a beating" Scott replied wearily, his body feeling heavy and lethargic from the insane stress it had been put under.  
"You OK Scott?"  
"I think so, I should be alright to get this thing back to base. Just don't tell dad I blacked out or he'll put me on indefinite sick leave like he did Gordon after the Detroit HydroDam rescue."  
"You actually...? Jesus Scott, you should tell dad and make sure you haven't done any damage to yourself."  
"I'll be fine Virgil, really. Now let's get out of here, you have passengers to drop off."

Floating in space was fun. Really, really fun. For Daniella Brinkov, it had been her dream since she was a little girl, and now here she was. Of course, she wasn't supposed to be 'just floating' in space, but she'd finished fixing the faulty command module and had at least 3 hours left in her oxygen tank, so she thought she might just float around for a bit.  
"Dani, you finished fixing the module yet or not?"  
'Well', she thought, 'that lasted long'. "Yes Marcus, I've finished fixing the module, all systems should be back online."  
"Excellent! Now get yourself back onboard, no point staying outside by yourself and wasting oxygen"  
"Yeah, no point to you maybe" She sighed, but she knew Marcus wouldn't let go about it, so she made her way to the airlock and entered the station. KR-13 was a Russian led observation space station that contained 5 crew members. Daniella herself was the engineer of the group, whilst Marcus was overall project leader- though everyone wished he wasn't. He wasn't even properly Russian, as people always liked to point out. Then again, neither was she. The other members of the space station included Igor Crancovic- the communications officer, Dimitri Brokalovic- navigations and experimentations expert, and Valentina Saschenko- data expert of the working team. The 5 of them had been onboard KR-13 for almost 2 months now, watching the world for all of the fun interactions the cosmos were having with the Earth's atmosphere. Some of them were fascinating, an intricate mix of every colour in the universe, constantly shifting in dimension. Some of them were invisible, explosions of energy that could only be seen by KR-13's incredible computers. Some of them had never been seen before; some of them would always remain hidden; Some of them were deadly.

The sun was shining on Lady Penelope, the beautiful day that it was. But for her, this was not a time to be sitting out and relaxing, this was a time to get down to business. Since International Rescue had first started, she had been tracking down information on The Hood, and now she was ready to report back. Carefully, she twisted the handle of her teapot, and opened the link to Tracy Island;  
"International Rescue from Lady Penelope. Come in International Rescue."  
"Penny!" Jeff exclaimed. "It's nice to hear from you again. What's the news this time?"  
"I've concluded my research into 'The Hood'. I fear he may be someone far more dangerous than we first envisaged."  
"I see. What are the details?"  
"After consulting a few of my- well, Parker's- contacts, it would seem that this character is very well known in the criminal black markets. He specialises in sabotage stealing technological secrets, and is willing to completely disregard everybody's safety to acquire them."  
"That sounds serious. Have the authorities not found this criminal?"  
"They've tried, but I'm afraid they've been rather unsuccessful. There's something else though; The Hood supposedly possesses powers of some kind, that can disorientate or hypnotise people, and I fear that is what makes him so dangerous."  
"Powers?" Jeff queried. "How reliable are these contacts?"  
"Parker trusts them, and therefore so do I. How are the boys?" She said, changing the subject.  
"Scott and Virgil are just back from a rescue in the Swiss Alps. Scott's pretty banged up but I think he's going to be fine. Another successful mission."  
"That's good to hear. Give the boys all the best from me, and be careful Jeff" Penelope finished with, and shut off the line.

Scott didn't know how long he'd been asleep, but he knew that however long it had been, it was worth it. As he stood up, he felt much better. Fitter, stronger, recovered. After landing he had gone straight to his room and fallen asleep. Virgil, naturally, had told Jeff everything about the rescue, including the fact that Scott had been unconscious. Jeff, the overly concerned father that he was, went to check on Scott, but as he was asleep he decided to leave him alone. Now, Scott was awake again, and ready for action.  
"I heard you took quite a beating" came a voice, and Scott almost jumped out of his skin.  
"Jesus Penny you almost scared me to death." He said, resting a hand on his chest as a symbol of his raised heartbeat.  
"Forgive me for being concerned for your wellbeing." Penny replied, before adding "Are you OK?"  
"Yeah I'm fine, nothing I couldn't sleep off. It's nice of you to check up on me. Certainly beats Alan jumping on my bed and asking half a dozen questions about how I almost became incapacitated."  
"Well, it wouldn't be very good of me if I didn't, would it? Although I always have faith in your capability to survive your rescues, it doesn't stop me worrying about you."  
"I think you should probably get off now before you start to show some emotion." Scott said, and Penelope made an 'unimpressed' face. Just then, Scott heard his door start to open, and hastily shut off the link himself.  
"Hey dad" He said as Jeff entered.  
"It's nice to see you're awake Scott. Feeling better?"  
"Yeah, much better. I sure am hungry though, do you know what Grandma is cooking for dinner?"  
"No, but I'm sure you'll like it" Jeff said, and they both exited the room, heading straight for the kitchen.

Alan stood in the hangar, staring at Thunderbird 3. Although he had been on rescues since IR had begun operating, he had yet to take Thunderbird 3 on one, with him as command. He had always been backup to Scott or Virgil, with everything on the ground. He was an astronaut at heart, someone who longed to be speeding amongst the stars. Not like John, who was happy just to be floating around in space. No, Alan had be blasting his way through the cosmos. He knew he had to be patient. One day he would be able to take Thunderbird 3 for a ride.

Daniella was floating in her room. Despite being on a space station, this was the only place she could experience the zero-gravity she so enjoyed other than when she went outside. That was Marcus' fault; As the leader of the team he decided that he wanted normal gravity onboard the space station. As such, this meant Daniella spent most of her time in her small, yet well balanced room. The only problem with that was that she didn't really have very much to do. She might as well go into the command centre and see if she could make herself useful. She exited her room with a graceful drop to the floor, and walked in.  
"So what fun things is everyone up to then?" She asked, in English. Despite 4 out of the 5 of them speaking Russian, Marcus was the team leader and he only spoke English. Therefore, they all spoke English whilst he was in the room. It didn't bother Dani particularly, as she could speak English, Russian and Italian perfectly well, but some of the others hated it.  
"We're recalibrating the photosphere module and aligning the camera's data stream to that of your new module." Marcus answered.  
"What he means to say is _we're_ aligning the data stream whilst he's sat on his fat ass eating Doritos" Valentina added, making sure Marcus heard it. Both Daniella and Valentina often shared their theories about how Marcus managed to land such a prestigious position. Apparently he had 'exceptional success' in previous missions, but Dani reckoned he was probably screwing their boss to get the lead role.  
"You might want to rethink your statement" Dimitri suddenly said from his station. "I've just picked up a massive energy signature in our area."  
"Let me take a look" Marcus said, walking over. Both Valentina and Igor joined him too, as they tried to decipher what the energy signal was.  
"It's too big to be a proton storm" Valentina suggested. "Too compact too."  
"Then what the hell is it?" Marcus demanded.  
"I don't know!" Valentina shouted, annoyed. "You're supposed to be the one here that knows everything."  
"Want to come take a look Dani?" Igor asked, but she shook her head.  
"No thanks, I've already seen half your data and it means nothing to me. Just tell me if you need anything fixed."  
"OK, no problem. Can you fix Marcus?" He replied, and Marcus shot him some eye daggers.  
"Wait a second everyone." Dimitri said, and they all stopped. "Something is not right here. This source, it's too compact to be an energy wave, but too large to be a particle storm. This isn't right."  
"I wonder what on Earth it could be." Marcus said, but no one was listening to him, only Dimitri.  
"Oh no..." Dimitri then said, frantically, pushing buttons and bringing up screens. " ублюдок! I know exactly what this is. It's a satellite."  
"Oh, that's not too bad then." Valentina said, but Dimitri stopped her.  
"No, when I saw this, I thought it was an energy spike or something, it would go straight through us... But this is a solid mass... and it's heading straight towards us... готовьтесь!"

The last thing Daniella remembered was being blinded by the brilliant white light of the explosion. Now she was stuck in a state of nothingness- she couldn't see, she couldn't hear, and she couldn't feel. She had no idea what had just happened. Then, suddenly, all of her senses returned at once. She cried out in agony as her whole body contracted from the pain of regaining consciousness. The heat burned the back of her neck, fire raging beside her, smoke filling the command room. But, above everything, it was the loudspeaker's announcement that really brought her back to her senses;  
" _ **OXYGEN PURGE IMMINENT. WARNING, OXYGEN PURGE IMMINENT. WARNING...**_ "  
Daniella sprung to her feet. Immediately, she spotted Dimitri laying next to her- he was in a bad way, blood covering the entire left side of his face and what looked like it could be a broken arm. He was still alive though, that was the main thing. She hauled Dimitri up and dragged him out of the command room and into the observation chamber, which was still intact. Frantically, she went back to find the others; Igor, Valentina and Marcus were all also laying around, unconscious. The right side of Marcus' body was badly burned, but the other two looked OK from the outside. She could feel her breathing getting erratic as the oxygen drained from the room, but she forced herself to carry on. Eventually, everyone was out, and she sealed the doors.  
"Computer" She rasped, remembering the AI only understood English, another thing that had come out of Marcus' leadership. "What is the oxygen level inside the Obsevation Chamber?"  
"There is oxygen in the chamber to last 4 hours and 12 minutes." It replied.  
"4 hours" Daniella acknowledged. "4 hours left until we all die."

As Scarlett walked down the walkway and into the conference room, she felt strangely calm. Calm in not only in herself, but in her mission. She had even bought a new, sky blue suit specially for the occasion. Accompanied by a white shirt and black suit trousers, she had even dyed blue streaks into her bleached blonde hair to match the new suit. As she took her place at the head of the conference table, she took a look around at everyone else. Scarlett wondered how much they would be willing to invest in her, in her plan for the future, how passionate they could be for the cause. When the big, bald man at the end of the table nodded for her to begin, she cleared her throat;  
"Ladies and Gentlemen, have any of you heard about an organisation called International Rescue?"

There had to be a way out. There just had to be a way off the Space Station. After spending 10 minutes checking that everyone else was still alive, Daniella had decided that she was not going to die onboard KR-13. But how was she going to do it? They were all currently stuck in the Observation Chamber, which was a dead end as far as she was concerned- the only way out was through the now de-oxygenated Control room. She needed outside help, but by the time Moscow had sent a relief shuttle, the oxygen would be gone. Then it hit her, just the inspiration she had needed- she was going to call International Rescue. Frantically, she scrambled to pull her portable radio off her utility belt. It was usually used when somebody wanted her to fix something, but she just hoped that International Rescue could pick up the signal- she had no idea what frequency they worked on.  
"International Rescue. International Rescue this is space station KR-13. Please come in, this is an emergency!"

John was asleep onboard Thunderbird 5. He usually had to change his sleeping pattern based on when rescues came in, to the point that he didn't really have a sleeping pattern anymore anyway. To make sure he never slept through an emergency call, he had a system of alarms installed onboard Thunderbird 5. And now, they were going off.  
"Uhh come on" He sighed, groggily, as he hauled himself out of bed, and made his way into the comms room. "This is International Rescue, reading you loud and clear. What's the problem?"  
"Oh thank god!" Daniella exclaimed. "My name is Daniella Brinkov, Chief Engineer of Space Station KR-13. I don't know what's happened, we've had some sort of collision and now I'm trapped."  
"OK" John said, taking in the situation. "Take it slowly. How many of you are there?"  
"There's 5 of us, but I'm the only one still conscious. The others are in a bad way."  
That's not what John had wanted to hear. "Do you know where you are on the station at the moment?"  
"Yes, but we can't get to the airlock without passing through the command and control centre, but there was an oxygen purge in there after the collision so now it's uninhabitable. I can't get the suits because they're on the other side too."  
"Is the structure stable?"  
"Yes, as far as I can tell, but we only have 4 hours of oxygen remaining in this room because the pumps are offline."  
4 hours. They were going to have to work fast. "OK Daniella, keep this line open. We will be with you as soon as possible. Just hang tight."

As soon as John's eyes started to flash, Jeff jumped out of his chair.  
"What is it John?"  
"We have an emergency call father. Russian Space Station KR-13 is in distress after some sort of collision. There are 5 people onboard that are trapped, and worse still they only have 4 hours of oxygen remaining on the station."  
"OK John, thanks." He turned to Scott and Brains, who were also in the room. "Scott, go get Alan, tell him to prep for Thunderbird 3's launch."  
"Yes father, straight away."  
"Brains, what do you make of this?"  
"Well KR-13 is a scientific r-research space station, so it's built of s-strong stuff. I'm hoping it can hold together until Thunderbird 3 arrives and gets them out. It-It actually follows the same orbit as Thunderbird 5, albeit further behind than us. D-Do we know w-what hit it?"  
"No we don't" John replied, still tuned in. "The girl I spoke to said she didn't know what hit them, but I get the feeling it was something big."  
"It would have to be, to cause so much d-damage."  
"OK. John, get me the Russian Space Agency, maybe they can help us out."  
John disappeared for a few seconds, but when he returned he said "OK father, you're connected."  
Jeff steadied himself, making sure that he pressed 'sound only' on his intercom. So many times he had almost pressed video as he was so used to.  
"This is International Rescue calling RSA."  
"This is RSA reading you strength 5 International Rescue. My name is Alexi; I take it you're calling about KR-13."  
"We are" Jeff acknowledged. "We're trying to work out specifics before we send a rescue team up for recovery. We believe KR-13 was involved in a collision of some sort, do you know what hit it?"  
Jeff could hear Alexi shouting something Russian in the background. "We believe that KR was hit by a decommissioned European Space Agency Relay Booster Satellite. We're still working on how it became dislodged from its orbit, but our communications bridge was severed 15 minutes ago, which means the collision likely happened on the south side of the station. We haven't been able to contact them since."  
"OK, thank you Alexi. We'll bring you team back, don't worry."  
"Thank you International Rescue. Good luck."

Scott returned with Alan just as Jeff finished the call. Alan, naturally, looked excited to be going on his first space mission. Scott looked wary.  
"So is it true?" Alan asked Jeff, "We're finally getting to use Thunderbird 3?"  
"That's right Alan. Has Scott briefed you on the mission?"  
"Space station hit by unknown object, crew trapped onboard, need to be rescued. That about right?"  
"Yeah... Just about." Jeff said, hoping Alan's excitement didn't jeopardise the mission. "Brains, any requirements?"  
"I've already installed t-the low pressure spa-ace suits onboard Thunderbird 3 that you'll n-need to use. You'll have to locate the other suits onboard the station to get the crew out. Otherwise it's a simple r-recovery."  
Alan was already sat on the sofa that would lead down to Thunderbird 3's hangar, but as Scott went to join him, Jeff held him back.  
"Are you sure you've recovered enough for this?" He said in his 'concerned' voice.  
"I'm fine father, really. Besides, Alan's so excited for this I doubt I'll have much to do anyway."  
"Just watch yourself" Jeff said, "Off you go."

Scott always thought Thunderbird 3 had a weird boarding system. Unlike Thunderbirds 1 or 2, you had to ride the sofa all the way down to the hangar, then it would take you up into the rocket itself. After they had docked, Alan and Scott took up their positions at the front of the craft.  
"Gravity on or off?" Alan asked Scott as he pushed several buttons on his dashboard, each lighting up a different colour.  
"Does it matter? We're not going to be up there for very long." Scott replied, plotting the navigation route on his trusty computer port.  
"Fair point" Alan said, and both of them inserted their key into its slot. Thunderbird 3 couldn't take off without both keys, which was mainly to stop anybody stealing it, but also so that Alan didn't go into space by himself. Alan thought it was unfair, Jeff thought it was sensible, Scott couldn't care less.  
"Ready for liftoff procedure" Alan said, and they both twisted their keys to the right. Alan ramped up the vertical power lever, and the engines ignited. The entire area lit up orange as the supreme ion thrusters overcame gravity and pushed Thunderbird 3 into the air, plumes of red hot smoke erupting from beneath them as they made their way into space. The thrusters would shut off as soon as they hit the Mesosphere, and then they would drift to the target, guided by Scott's navigation. They would be there in less than 30 minutes.

Daniella had been sat there, deep in her own thoughts, when she suddenly spotted something out of the corner of her eye. One advantage of being on the observation deck was the 360 polarised window, which meant she could see anything outside. And now she could see something, a red rocket ship approaching the station, glowing in the reflected sunlight. It was like nothing she'd ever seen.  
"KR-13 from International Rescue" Her radio crackled. "We are on approach, ETA 2 minutes. Request Airlock access for docking."  
"Of course." She replied. "How bad is the damage to the station?"  
"Er... Bad." The voice replied. "You're lucky you all survived."  
"Yeah, just about." Daniella said, looking at the 4 unconscious bodies beside her. She fiddled with her toolbelt for a minute, before finally finding the remote release button for the airlock. Alan and Scott could see it retract as they pulled up, and docked Thunderbird 3 onboard the stricken Space Station.  
"Right then, let's find her" Alan said as they disembarked, with Scott following. Both of them had their spacesuits on, a marked difference from the regular International Rescue outfits.  
"Turn your lights on" Scott said, and Alan illuminated his suit. The Space station had gone dark, but now they could see the destruction for themselves.  
"This must have be the epicentre of the crash." Alan said, pulling metallic debris out of their path. There were small flames all around the room, giving the area an eerie glow, and the ruins of what was the command centre lay strewn across the floor. Alan had to pick up a large dome as he went to retrieve the suits. As he looked at it, he could make out the letters _**E.S.A.**_ written across it. This was definitely the epicentre.  
"Grab the suits" Scott said, preparing to open the doors to the observation room. "Then let's get the hell out of here."

The rescue itself wasn't particularly difficult: After breaching the doors to the observation room, they had managed to get suits on all of the unconscious Cosmonauts, along with Daniella herself. Between them, they managed to get all subjects back aboard Thunderbird 3, which had been made easier now that Alan and Scott had cleared most of the debris away from their path back to TB3. As Alan and Scott sat in their pilot and co-pilot seats respectively, Daniella took up a seat in the back. There was a pause, a silence as they were about to disembark. The flames should have given it away.

There was an almighty crash.

Scott and Alan were already strapped into their seats; As Thunderbird 3 did a cartwheel, they managed to ride it out. Daniella, however, wasn't, the force of the jolt sending her across the cockpit of Thunderbird 3. Somehow she managed to steady herself, and pull herself back to the boys.  
"What the hell was that?" Alan shouted, wrestling with Thunderbird 3's controls to try to steady themselves. Then he remembered they were still enclosed by the airlock.  
"I have no idea!" Daniella shouted. "It sounded like some kind of explosion."  
"Right now I don't care what it was!" Scott shouted, "Just release us from the airlock!"  
Acknowledging his command, Daniella went to her airlock release control, and pressed the button. Nothing. She pressed it again... Nothing. It wasn't working.  
"This was only the transmitter" Daniella said when Scott asked why it didn't work. "It used a relay onboard the station to actually open the airlock, which must have been damaged in the explosion. Without it the airlock won't open and we're trapped."  
"Base from Thunderbird 3" Alan said over their own radio. "We have a situation."  
"What's going on boys?" Jeff's voice came back to them.  
"Something's happened onboard the Space Station and Thunderbird 3 is now trapped in the airlock."  
"Brains!" Jeff shouted, and the technician ran straight into the room that Jeff was standing in. "Brains, can you bring up a projection of KR-13's orbital path."  
"R-Right away, Mr T-Tracy." He stammered, before illuminating the room with a holographic map of KR-13 above the Earth. "It would seem that KR-13 is losing its orbit and heading back into the Earth's atmosphere. The explosion must have knocked it badly out of orbit."  
"That's bad, isn't it" Alan asked.  
"Yes" Brains and Daniella both said simultaneously.  
"If you carry on, the entire unit will burn up, and that includes T-Thunderbird 3." Brains continued. "Are you sure you c-can't detach from the a-airlock?"  
"Not at the moment. The relay station onboard is no longer functional."  
"What f-frequency does it use?"  
"750MHz"  
"I t-think I may have an idea. John, you will want to listen in on this too.""  
"I already was" He replied, his face appearing where his paining should be yet again.  
"KR-13 is in the orbital pathline of Thunderbird 5. As it is falling to Earth, it is also accelerating, and will soon catch up with John. Once it is close enough, John can send a 750MHz s-signal in their direction and release Thunderbird 3."  
"That sounds good." John said.  
"O-Only one problem. The timing will have to be just right. If you are too early it won't each them, too late and they'll have already entered the Earth's atmosphere. It has to be p-perfect."

As KR-13 zipped through the upper atmosphere, it left a bright orange burning trail of broken parts. If they weren't about to die, Alan might have seen it as rather beautiful.  
"What's wrong?" Scott said, sitting besides his little brother.  
"The fact we're about to burn to a crisp might be a start." Alan replied, refusing to look at him.  
"That's normal for us. Something else is wrong, I can tell. It's Tin-Tin, isn't it?"  
"How did you know about that!?" Alan almost exploded, more out of surprise than anything else.  
"I saw the two of you kissing a couple of days ago. I didn't know who knew, so I kept it to myself."  
"We want to tell dad, but we're too worried about how he'd react. We haven't been together that long, I don't want to ruin it."  
"I'm sure dad wouldn't mind, at least Tin-Tin lives on the Island."  
"You, of all people, are telling me dad wouldn't mind. You haven't told him that yourself and Penelope are together, and you've been an item for what, 6 months?"  
"That's different" Scott said, and Alan gave him a funny look. "Dad and Penny are almost inseparable. I doubt he'll take kindly to someone taking his time away from her. Besides, we've told everyone else, it's hardly that much of a secret."  
"We could always tell him together?" Alan suggested. For once Scott didn't disagree.  
"You two do know I can hear you, right?" John's voice came over the radio. "You left the channel open. Sorry Alan."  
"Well, I guess that makes it a bit easier."  
"It does. And on more good news, I'm almost ready to get you out of there."  
"You might want to hurry up" Alan said, his face suddenly growing more worried. "Heat shields have just hit maximum."  
"So soon?" Scott asked, confused.  
"We're falling faster than anticipated" Daniella said from behind them. "I can feel it."  
There was a sudden pop as a panel flew off Thunderbird 3's exterior. Then another. They were starting to feel the heat.  
"John you've got to do it now!" Alan shouted.  
"No. You're too far away. The signal wouldn't reach."  
"JOHN!"  
"NO!" John responded loudly. He took a breath, steadied himself. He had to get this right- but they were in trouble, Thunderbird 3 was, to a great extent, on fire.  
"John, for god's sake man, just do it. TB3 is about to fall apart." But there was silence. They waited for something, that one word...  
"NOW"  
There was an incredible high pitched squeal, and Alan slammed the thrusters into full reverse. Thunderbird 3 cannonballed out of the airlock, and KR-13 exploded behind them. Alan balanced the pitch controls, and within seconds they had gone from burning to flying. John had done it. Alan let out a scream of delight and hugged Scott tightly, whilst Daniella applauded them. John, up on Thunderbird 5, gave himself a little celebratory fist pump, whilst, back on Tracy Island, Jeff let out the biggest sigh of relief. They were going to be OK.  
"Great job boys" He said over the radio. "I'm proud of both of you. Mission accomplished."  
"Thanks dad" Scott replied, "That one was too close for comfort."

Scarlett walked into the dimly lit room, alone in her thoughts. As she sat down, she could see that there was another person sat at the opposite end of the table. He was blacked out, almost a silhouette. Scarlett was under no illusion this was purposeful.  
"I have reviewed your proposal Miss Dekker" The man began, calmly and methodically. This was not the first time he had done this. "Whilst I can agree with the ideas and principles behind it, I am somewhat concerned by your lack of skills, resources and funding for the project."  
"With respect" She began, then realised this guy probably cared little for respect. "I refute the first part of your concerns. I am more than capable of performing this assignment. You forget that I won't be alone on this mission."  
"You'll forgive me for not believing you without any proof."  
"You'll have to trust me."  
"Trust is a myth." He snapped, cutting her off. "And your 'skills' are useless without the other two points."  
"We already have the high resolution camera, and we already know that it works. Now all we need is a sonic disruption device. I believe, if you were to forward some of the money now then we could easily acquire the device and easily solve the funding issue."  
"Not a chance. Myself and my partners have fought very hard to keep SkyeTech out of the eyes of the law. Forwarding the money now puts all our investors at risk of exposure. As you can see from my appearance, we take our privacy very seriously." He took a sip from is cup, slower than he should have. He was making her sweat. "Now, tell me about your partner; This wasn't mentioned in your proposal."  
"He is a very clever man" Scarlett said carefully, she didn't know how much she should reveal. "He is actually the person who devised this opportunity."  
"Why is he not here pitching this idea then?"  
"Like you, he values his anonymity. I guess you could call me his mouthpiece, aswell as his partner."  
"Have you worked together before?"  
"We have, and he has experience with International Rescue too. He may have failed to deliver the information that day, but we learned valuable lessons."  
"Such as?"  
"International Rescue value their secrets as much as they value other people's lives, but they are breachable. We actually attained photographic evidence of their craft, but it was destroyed. Now, however, we know that it can be done, and with both of us it will be so much easier."  
The man didn't respond to that. He just sat there for 10 minutes; Scarlett didn't know what she should do: Leave, wait or speak. She chose to wait, and then he finally spoke.  
"You must appreciate the lengths I go to in order to keep myself and my business partners' interests safe, Miss Dekker. On no grounds can I forward you the money, but I am convinced in your ideals. You will have to acquire the resources yourself, but our offer of $200M on completion remains. You have 7 days to bring me technological secrets of the International Rescue craft, along with proof that it is genuine. And Miss Dekker, let me make it perfectly clear to you that, should you and your partner fail, I will have no problem in making sure neither of you walk this Earth again. Do not disappoint me...

Or you **will** meet you doom."


	5. Terror Grip

**TERROR GRIP**

Dark clouds rolled over Shatter Rock City. The sun had already set, leaving only the streetlights- burning an unhealthy shade of neon orange- to light the roads ahead. There would be no need for them tonight, as a great storm was brewing. The violent lightning bolts would light up the city in a cascade of white strobes, disturbing the residents' peaceful sleep. Down the long, dusty road away from the city, this would merely be a background distraction, for something bigger was about to happen, something that would eclipse nature's events. _Terra Firma_ was as well known as it was accessible, a military compound that hid in Australia's deserts, just outside the city. Soon, it would become the centre of the night's events. As one of the many night guards strode past the base's underground entrance, he could have sworn that something moved in the shadows. But it was late, and his shift was coming to an end, so he decided he was seeing things. The shadow was just a shadow. But as he walked away, the shadow promptly moved behind him, and slit his throat.

As Thunderbird 1 took off, it left a plume of white smoke behind it. Both Scott and Virgil had just attended a rescue in England that involved a multi-car pileup- a 16 wheel transporter had suffered a tyre blowout and overturned, causing several cars behind it to crash. After successfully freeing everyone and putting out the petrol fire that had engulfed half a mile of motorway, Scott had the brilliant idea of quickly going over to Lady Penelope, and bringing her back to Tracy Island. Jeff, oblivious to Scott's reason of wanting to do it, readily agreed. After all, this would be the first time Lady Penelope had been to Tracy Island since International Rescue started up.  
"Won't your father think it's a bit weird that I'm coming back in Thunderbird 1?" Penelope said, leaning over Scott's pilot seat. Thunderbird 1 only had one seat onbaord; It was not designed to carry passengers. Penelope had a point.  
"I don't think he'll read too much into it" Scott replied, cool and collected.  
"Are you sure he'll be OK with what you're planning?" She then asked, which got Scott's attention.  
"You worry too much. I'm sure once all of this is done, we'll look back on it and wonder why we were ever worried about it. At least, I hope so."  
"Scott, your father, whether he knows it or not, acts like you boys and myself are the only people in the world. And I'm not sure his perfect world involves us being in a relationship. Tin-Tin and Alan he probably won't mind, but I don't think he would have ever expected us two."  
"Maybe not, but we can't keep hiding it forever. Let's face it, everyone else knows, and he probably should too."  
"You do remember he once warned you to stay away from me?" Penelope reminded him, and Scott laughed.  
"Oh I do, which only made me want you more" He said, and ramped TB1's thrusters up to maximum.

Virgil, having left earlier, was already back at Tracy Island when Thunderbird 1 docked. He'd passed word onto Alan that they were bringing Lady Penelope back to the island, so when Scott exited TB1, he found both Alan and Tin-Tin waiting for him.  
"This is the day then" Alan said, and Scott nodded.  
"This is the day."  
"Just how long have you two been planning this?" Penelope asked.  
"A week" Scott replied. "Myself and Alan started making plans whilst we were in Thunderbird 3, having just finished a rescue." He turned to Alan, "That reminds me, we should send a thank you message to Daniella for helping us come up with ideas."  
The 4 of them continued talking until they emerged back inside the living area. Jeff was already in there, talking to Brains and Virgil, whist Kyrano was serving a round of drinks to everyone. Gordon was nowhere to be seen, but judging from the great splash from outside, he was in the pool.  
"Penny!" Jeff exclaimed when he saw her. He walked over and have her a great hug. "It's nice to see you back on the island."  
"It's very nice to be back, although the Island seems a lot busier now that International Rescue has started up."  
"Well we thought we'd get everyone out, be a nice surprise for you."  
"Yes" Penelope said quietly, inching closer to Scott. "Surprises."  
Scott took that as his cue to speak, but as soon as he opened his mouth, John's portrait began to light up.  
"International Rescue, we have a situation." He said, appearing on the screen. Scott laughed at John's incredibly poor timing, whilst Alan shot him eye daggers; John mouthed 'Sorry' when Jeff wasn't looking- he knew today was supposedly the big day.  
"What's the situation John?" Jeff asked.  
"A mine on the asteroid A-136-Beta is in distress; It seems they hit another asteroid and the mine has collapsed in the collision. 5 people are trapped inside and need rescuing."  
"OK, thanks John. Looks like you're up Alan, off you go. John will fill you in on the details once you're in space."  
Alan made his way over to the sofa that would take him down to Thunderbird 3, managing to get out a sarcastic 'FAB' before he got there.  
"Scott" Jeff said, "I think you should sit this one out- you've only just returned from a rescue and you need to get some rest. Brains will take up co-pilot duties on this mission to help with the technicalities of the mine."  
"OK father, I understand" Scott replied, and Jeff was almost taken aback that Scott hadn't tried t argue his way onto a mission. "Do you think we could go out to the deck father?" Scott asked, "It would give Lady Penelope a chance to see Thunderbird 3 take off."  
"Good thinking Scott" Jeff said, taking Penelope's arm. "Let's head outside."

 _ **3 DAYS EARLIER**_

The ANRL- Australian National Research Laboratory- stood in the middle of Shatter Rock City, a large, grey building that dwarfed everything around it. With Australia's ever increasing population, the decision was taken to move inwards, away from the coast, and towards the barren outback. The decision was known as 'Project Inroads', and Shatter Rock was chosen to be at the forefront of the expansion, the poster city for a new Australia. 15 years ago the entire area was a wasteland, but now it was a great city, housing 13.5 million people and some of the world's biggest corporations, all powered solely by Solar, Wind and Geo-Thermal energy. As one of the many initiatives to get people to take notice of Shatter Rock City, the ANRL was relocated to there from Sydney, where it took its place in the very heart of the city.

To The Hood, however, it was just another building.

He gently lent pressure against the door he was stood next to- not the main door, there was no way he'd get through that, but one of the service doors down the side. It creaked under his weight, but it didn't move. Carefully, he pulled a handgun out of his waistband, the nozzle extended by a blasé silencer. Aiming at the hinges of the door, he let off 3 quick shots, and it opened. There were no alarms, not yet.  
"Smooth" Scarlett noted as they entered, but The Hood did not reply; He had no need to reply, he merely moved forward. As they walked through the long corridors, Scarlett twisted and twirled around, looking at all of the crazy inventions that ANRL housed. The Hood, meanwhile, went straight to the end of the building. He knew what they were here for, and they didn't have much time to get it. Once he reached the glass container, Scarlett composed herself.  
"It's time to make our big move my friend. This is it."  
"Oh yes it is" The Hood replied, pulling a laser torch from his waistband. "Soon, we will have all of the secrets in the world. We will be unstoppable."  
"Do it" Scarlett said, and The Hood set to work. The laser was making light work of the reinforced glass, and soon there was a hole big enough for them to take out the device housed inside of the container. Carefully, slowly, The Hood pulled it out, and placed it inside his pocket, whilst behind him Scarlett was placing a small device beside the cage. As soon as she let it go, it sprouted a set of antennae, and began to spin round.  
"Let's get the hell out of here" She said, and The Hood nodded. Just as easily as they entered the building, they exited, with the device in tow. Scarlett jumped into her car, started the engine, and floored it. She just kept driving, and driving, until the ANRL was just visible in the background. Then, as the timer on her watch hit zero, the entire building went up in a cloud of smoke and fire. As she drove away, Scarlett swore she could hear the noise of the blast.

 _ **PRESENT DAY**_

The whirr and hiss that emanated from the walls of Terra Firma's underground robotics lab were not at all unusual for that time of the night. It may have been nearing 1am, but both of the Military's lead scientists were still present; infact, they were the only people there. At that time of the night, it was always just the two of them. Both Emma Alsta and Steph Marshall had been a part of the tech team for going on 5 years now, having transferred straight from Melbourne International University, where they had been roommates. Right now, they were working on their latest project- A mechanical biosuit that would be used in combat. At least, they were supposed to be working on it.  
"Hey! Watch it!" Steph shouted across the room as Emma took a swing at her, missing by inches and swiping half their work off the desk behind them. "We're supposed to be fighting each other, not my paperwork."  
"You better put on a better defence then" Emma replied, jabbing Steph in the stomach. Her suit let out a whine as it buckled. In retaliation, Steph picked up a metal pole that was sitting on the floor, and swung it at Emma, catching her in the side of the head. As she stumbled backwards, Emma realised she no longer had visual support from the suit. It took just another couple of swings from Steph, and her suit had become incapacitated.  
"I believe that is game." Steph said, and hauled Emma back to her feet. They both took off their helmets, and sat at their desks. Both of them had decided that, instead of going through the usual channels of Military testing, the best way to see if their suits worked was to have a play fight.  
"I think the suits need internal reinforcing" Emma offered. "One hit from that pole and I'd lost my electronic eyes."  
Steph nodded her agreement. "I think it needs to be lighter too, felt like a chore carrying it around, limited mobility."  
"Stronger and lighter, how hard can it be?" Emma laughed, at the exact same moment as a rumble of thunder rolled over the base. "I would love to take it out into the storm, see how it handled the conditions."  
"We do have another suit"  
"We need to do the modifications first, no point taking it out on old setups."  
Another clap of thunder hit, but this one was different. It was a sustained noise. The floor was starting to shake.  
"Are we having an Earthquake?" Steph asked, her chair shaking violently.  
"I have no idea!" Emma replied. The vibrations were intensifying; There was a snap as one of the light panels detached from the ceiling, crashing onto the floor. Cracks were starting to appear in both the wall and the ceiling.  
"Get down!" Emma suddenly shouted, grabbing Steph and throwing her under the desk just as a large chunk of ceiling came down, crushing her chair. Emma decided it would be safest to join Steph under the desk, crawling under just as one of the lights blew above them, letting out a loud bang. In the shelter of the desk, Emma could see Steph try to tell her something, eyes wide with fear, but Emma couldn't hear her, all she could hear was a horrible creaking noise from behind her. And then the whole world went black.

Armando Garcia hated alarms, but in his many years of active service, he had become quite used to them. This was no different. As the high pitched screeching woke him from his sleep, he was into his uniform and out of his living quarters faster anybody else on the base. With the rank of Captain, he was the highest ranked officer on the base, and therefore had overall control of all operations that took place, but it also meant he had to deal with all of the problems too. As he walked out of the building, he opened up his GPS to check where the alarm was coming from. When he looked up, however, he realised he wouldn't need to; A large crowd of people had already formed around the entrance to the robotics lab. Red tape marked a large exclusion zone, inside of which the ground was split into several pieces.  
"What's going on?" Garcia commanded as he made his way through the crowd, but nobody was answering. There were all too engrossed in the attempts being made to drill beneath the crumbling rubble. As Garcia made his way to the front, he saw his personal aide, Rowley Carson.  
"Rowley, what the hell is going on here?"  
"Armando thank god!" He exclaimed, rushing over to him. "I sounded your alarm as soon as I got word. There's been some sort of collapse in the robotics lab."  
"Collapse?" Garcia asked, though he could already see the evidence for himself.  
"Our sensors picked up some mad vibrations in this area, so I came out to take a look for myself, and found the entire area almost caved in. I called in Patterson to see what he thought, and when we realised where the epicentre was, we sounded the alarm."  
"Is there anybody down there?" Garcia asked, but from Rowley's face he already knew the answer.  
"Emma and Steph are both down there. They swiped their electronic keycard 3 hours ago to go in, but not to come out."  
"I don't like this. Something about this doesn't feel right at all. How close are we to getting them out?"  
"We're not, I'm afraid" Came another voice, which unmistakably belonged to Reed Patterson, the base's resident expert in structural engineering. "We tried to drill through the collapse to get down to them, but it's too unstable. At the moment, the concrete is supporting itself, but if we disturb it, it could all come crashing down, and then they would be buried."  
"What's your plan?" Garcia asked.  
"We don't have one" Patterson replied. "At the moment, we have no way of getting in. I can tell you this though, the collapse was not caused by any sort of Earthquake. From what I can tell, it was far too localised; Could have been from some sort of device."  
Suddenly, it all clicked in Garcia's head. "You mean like the Sonic Disruptor stolen from the ANRL a few days ago?"  
Patterson's jaw dropped. "You have got to be kidding me." It wasn't a question.  
"Put the entire base on lockdown." Garcia said. "I'm calling International Rescue."

Scarlett was enjoying watching the commotion below her. Perching on the ledge of the roof of Terra Firma's primary data storage building, she could see everything happening in and around the base. Most of that included gathering around the underground robotics lab, which she was looking at now. As distractions go, this was one of the best she'd had a part in. Still, they couldn't take any chances, so she had scaled the building whilst there was nobody around to see her, and created her very own sniper's nest. She was just on lookout duty, getting soaked in the rain whilst The Hood took on their real task...

Despite the raging storm outside, The Hood was as dry as he could possibly be. The lights that lined the building's wall were almost blinding compared to the darkness outside, but he was more than used to it. The room that he needed was just around the corner, but there was somebody outside the room. There was always someone where he needed to be. Even with the activity outside, some people had stayed inside, and they must be taken care of. Carefully he approached the technician, and tapped him on the shoulder. As the man turned around, he was met by nothing but The Hood's piercing yellow eyes. He wanted to scream in pain, but he'd already hit the floor before the sound came out.  
"This is exactly what I need" The Hood chuckled quietly to himself, swiping the Technician's keycard and entering the data storage room. Inside was Terra Firma's central computer network, and their data records storage. Using the keycard, he forced entry into the computer systems. As tempting as it was to copy everything on the system, he had a plan that he had to stick to. It had to look like a planned attack. He kept scrolling, and scrolling, until he found the ideal target. The TXR Guided Missile system. Perfect. Laughing quietly to himself, The Hood revealed a memory stick, and copied the plans. As soon as it had copied, he removed the memory stick, and crashed the entire system.  
"Hey, who the hell are you!?" Came a voice from the doorway. The Hood spun around, cursing himself for leaving the door unlocked, and caught the man's gaze. It was the eyes, always the eyes. As soon as he too had dropped to the floor, The Hood was gone.

Seeing John's eyes flash in his portrait was something Jeff was getting very used as head of International Rescue.  
"Another rescue call?" He asked as John appeared on the screen.  
"Yes father, we have another call."  
"What's the emergency this time?"  
"A military base in Australia has had a cave in with one of its underground robotics labs and 2 people are trapped inside. They've tried to drill their way through the collapse but it's too unstable."  
"How about going underneath?" asked Gordon, who was now inside and dried off.  
"I like the idea." Jeff agreed.  
"We have another rescue?" Scott said, entering the room.  
"Yes, we do Scott" Jeff said, inviting Scott to join them. "There's been a collapse out in Australia we need to deal with."  
"I guess it's a good thing I stayed here then" Scott said, "I'll head off towards the danger zone, you can give me the details along the way."  
"OK Scott. Gordon, go and get Virgil. Tell him to take Pod 2 and The Mole."  
"Right away father" Gordon said. "Thunderbirds Are Go."

The close proximity of Australia to Tracy Island meant that Scott was over the danger zone in less than 20 minutes. Virgil was just 10 minutes behind.  
"Take me through the situation one more time" Scott asked, hovering over the base at 5000ft.  
"Our underground robotics lab has collapsed" Came Captain Garcia's voice over Scott's radio. "2 of our scientists are trapped inside. We can't dig our way through the rubble because it is too unstable."  
"I understand that, don't worry, but you don't think this is a natural disaster?"  
"No" Garcia conceded. "The vibrations that caused the collapse were very localised; We believe they were caused by a device stolen a few days ago from a nearby institute."  
"Then that presents us with a problem. In all likelihood, whoever caused this attack will still be in the area and well hidden. I cannot risk my organisation becoming a part of this attack."  
"There's a clearing west of the base you can land your craft. I'll have my men form a protective barrier around your aircraft."  
"Appreciated." Scott said, then changed over to channel 2. "Father, I'm over the danger zone now. The conditions are appalling but I'm confident a rescue can be completed once Virgil arrives with The Mole."  
"That's good Scott" Jeff replied. "What about this threat? Do you think it could be The Hood?"  
"I talked it over with Captain Garcia, and it would certain fit his MO. We're not taking any chances though; If he is here, we're going to keep Thunderbrids 1 and 2 well clear."  
"OK Scott, be careful out there. If The Hood did cause this, then make sure you're armed. We already know how dangerous he is."

Emma woke up seeing stars. Unfortunately, that's all she woke up seeing- everything else was black.  
"What happened?" She managed to get out.  
"The wall collapsed and whacked you on the back of the head." Replied Steph, who was still beside Emma, even if she couldn't see her. "Don't worry, I managed to stop the bleeding eventually, you should be fine. It's hard to work in minimal light, I have to say."  
"How long have I been out?"  
"No idea, but people have been busy above us, I suppose in trying to get us out. Though I think they've realised that drilling down is a bad idea, unless they want this place to cave in even more."  
"If only our suits could get us out of this mess" Emma laughed, before realising it hurt too much.  
"I think we'd be famous if they could do that. Don't worry, I'm sure someone will figure a way of getting us out sooner or later. I just hope it's before the rest of this structure gives way."

Scott was dripping with water, stood next to Captain Garcia as the rain crashed down onto the base, overlooking the collapse. Between them they had managed to plot a course for The Mole that could get them to inside without causing them to fall through the collapse.  
"Where is this vehicle now?" Garcia asked, wondering what 'The Mole' was actually going to look like.  
"It's on its way into the base now. We landed a fair distance away so it'll take a minute or two to get to the danger zone." Scott said, just as they were hit with a flash of lightning.  
"I hope this storm doesn't affect the rescue."  
"Well we'll soon find out. Here it comes." Scott replied, pointing to the base entrance. Garcia could only watch as a giant drill on tank tracks drove into the base, taking up position just behind the cordoned off area.  
"You know" Garcia said, "I didn't know what to expect when you called it 'The Mole', but I did not expect that."  
"It'll get the job done, don't worry." Scott turned on his wrist radio, "Mobile Control to The Mole, everything set up OK Virgil?"  
"I'm set up fine" He replied, "But the storm is making it hard for me to see anything, even with your laser guidance system."  
Scott brought up his holographic interface, "Set tracking to 8-9-1-7 and move 20 metres to your left." The Mole started to spin around as Virgil readjusted himself. Scott watched and waiting until they were in position. "OK Virgil, begin the drill."  
"Understood, drilling now!" Virgil belted out as the drill section of The Mole began to tip upwards. Water flew off the giant corkscrew like vehicle as it began to spin. A single rocket jet ignited, and the drill went into the ground, throwing dirt everywhere. Soon, The Mole was gone, leaving behind just its motorised platform and a giant hole in the ground.

Both Thunderbird craft may have landed outside of the base, but the clearing was hardly a secluded spot, and that's exactly what The Hood had wanted. Infact, being outside of the base made it so much easier. All that stood between them and International Rescue's demise were 8 feeble guards.  
"We stick to the plan?" Scarlett asked.  
"Oh yes, we stick to the plan. Everything is going even better than I could have hoped!"  
"Then I guess it's my time to shine." Scarlett replied, and The Hood silently handed her the Sonic Disruption device. Taking it in her hand, she quietly crept through the barren desert, using the rumbling thunder to hide the sound of her footsteps. When she thought she was close enough, Scarlett set the device down, and made her way back to The Hood.  
"Now is the moment of truth" The Hood claimed as she returned, holding up a small trigger type device. He enclosed his hand around the handle, and then dropped it to the floor. Ahead of them, every single guard around the Thunderbird craft fell to their knees, some holding their heads in agony, others curled up on the floor, writhing around. Eventually they started to slow their movements, and then stopped completely. That was when they made their move."  
"You take the big one" The Hood demanded, "I will take Thunderbird 1"

It was the red flashing light that Scott had hoped he wouldn't see during this rescue, but knowing the likely culprit of the disaster, he has expected it, even with Garcia's guards. He was expecting it so much that it took him a second to recognise what was happening.  
"The automatic camera detector!" He suddenly exclaimed, causing Garcia to jump. "Do you have a car?"  
"Yes of course" Garcia replied.  
"Somebody is photographing the inside of our aircraft. It is of upmost importance that we catch them and have them stopped."  
"OK, this way" Garcia said, and led Scott to his car. "What about your friend, the one piloting the massive drill?"  
"He'll be fine, don't worry. He will get your girls out from there."

Steph and Emma were bored. Very bored. But being bored was better than being dead, and they weren't quite dead yet. The long wait was playing tricks on the both of them- a flash of light in one corner, a vibrating noise between their feet.  
"Do you hear that?" Steph said. So it wasn't just Emma's imagination then.  
"Yeah, some sort of vibration, coming from the collapsed wall area."  
"Oh great, the whole place is probably coming down."  
Just as Emma and Steph prepared themselves for falling rubble, a set of blinding lights flooded the lab. Both girls had to cover their eyes, having adjusted so much to the dark.  
"What the hell is that?" Emma exclaimed.  
"Terra Firma lab team, this is International Rescue. Shout out if you can hear me" Said a voice, amplified over a radio. Both Emma and Steph promptly shouted out.  
"OK, I'm going to attempt to extract you from the lab. Stay exactly where you are."  
"And exactly how are you going to do that?" Emma asked.  
"There's a small gap in the collapsed wall. I'm going to attempt to widen it and then pull you through it."  
The next thing they knew, a red laser beam was etching its way through the rock. Bit by bit, it started to open up, until there was a nice person sized hole in it.  
"You go through first" Emma said to Steph. She pushed her friend through the hole, but it was slow progress; Steph could only just fit through. Emma watched as Steph eventually disappeared round the other side, hauled out by International Rescue. Then she saw the cracks, racing up the wall. Not that she needed to, the vibrations were increasing rapidly.  
"OK" Said Virgil on the other side, "What's going on now?"  
"The entire place is coming down" Steph replied. "Emma, we have to get you out now!"

Emma near dived through the hole. As soon as she did, the crack in the wall widened, and the entire unit slipped, pinning her down.  
"OK, not good" Virgil said. He went for his laser, but the structure was already far too weak. Having another section cut out of it could cause the entire thing to collapse on top of all of them.  
"Wait, I have an idea. Everyone stay here"  
"Don't worry, I don't think there's much chance of us going anywhere" Emma remarked in return as Virgil disappeared inside The Mole. It didn't take him long to reappear, holding a hydraulic jack.  
"I'm going to put the jack underneath the collapse. It should give us just enough leverage to get you out." Virgil said, placing the jack just under the collapsing rubble. Bits of rock rained down from the ceiling, signalling an imminent breakaway. He activated the jack, pushing the wall skywards, but it wouldn't hold for long. Steph grabbed Emma and dragged her through, then they all ran for The Mole. A large chunk of rock broke away from the ceiling and landed on the jack, causing it to explode in hydraulic fluid. Virgil didn't need any more reasons to leave, and jammed on full reverse. There was a large creak, and a crack, and the whole ceiling fell down- but when the dust settled, The Mole had already gone.

Both Scarlett and The Hood were in Thunderbird 2 when Scott arrived, busily taking photos of the interior panels, but they heard the car pull up outside.  
"That must be them" Scarlett said, drawing her gun.  
"Here" The Hood said, handing her his roll of film. "Take these to your employer, make sure we get our money."  
Scarlett took the role of film. When she looked back, The Hood had disappeared.  
"Whoever you are in there" Came a voice, booming over a megaphone, "Come out of Thunderbird 2 and surrender peacefully whilst you still have the chance."  
'No chance of that' Scarlett thought, leaning out of the open door to fire off a few rounds. Outside, Scott and Captain Garcia took cover from the hail of bullets.  
"Looks like they're not going without a fight" Garcia said, returning fire, though there wasn't much he could do without damaging Thunderbird 2. Scott waiting for another round of fire before shooting back, but their assailant was too well hidden.  
"We've got to find a way to stop them." Scott said, and Garcia agreed.  
"This has gone on too long" Garcia said, and pulled a small grenade from his belt. "This is one of our latest innovations, a Taser grenade." Garcia could see Scott's apprehensive look. "Don't worry, it won't damage your craft." Once there was a lull in the gunfire, Garcia lobbed the grenade through the open door. On the other side, Scarlett could only watch as the small yellow device hit the floor, the impact triggering tendrils that shot out towards her. One of them hit their mark, firing thousands of volts through her system. Once it had finished, she fell to the floor in an electrified heap. As soon as she had dropped, Scott and Garcia entered Thunderbird 2.  
"Well I can tell you one thing" Garcia said, "That isn't The Hood."  
"Which means he got away" Scott replied, cursing quietly to himself.  
"But at least we know he didn't get the photos" Garcia said, picking up both rolls of photo-tape. Scarlett stirred besides them, still feeling the effects.  
"I think it's time you got her out of here Captain" Scott said, "Maybe then we can find out a little more about her and her... associates."

The ride back to Tracy Island had been smooth, but not without action. Virgil, having pulled Emma and Steph from the rubble, had headed back in Thunderbird 2 earlier than Scott, and was already back at the island. Captain Garcia had taken Scarlett to maximum security and burned the tapes. Then, on the return journey, Scott and Alan had devised their plan to reveal their relationships to Jeff, without having to actually say anything. Everyone on the island made themselves scarce, whilst Brains distracted Jeff with a new 'invention' of his. As soon as Scott landed, he met Lady Penelope on the platform. They walked, arm in arm, into the living area, accompanied by Alan and Tin-Tin.  
"OK Brains, you can let him down now" Alan said into his miniature radio. Almost instantly, they heard footsteps approaching.  
"You ready for this?" Scott asked.  
"I'm ready" Penelope replied. Scott grabbed her by the waist, pulling her closer. Their lips brushed momentarily before they enveloped themselves in a passionate kiss. Scott could just about hear the sound of glass smashing as Jeff dropped his drink in shock, and pulled away.  
"I... Well..." Jeff struggled to get the words out, staring at the 4 of them.  
"The kids are growing up Jeff" Penelope said, though she was in no way a kid herself.  
"I can see that" Jeff replied, relaxing a little. "I need a cigar."  
Scott laughed at his father's reaction, and went to light a cigarette of his own, when he caught a reflection on the wall. John's monitor was open- he had been watching them. Of course John had been watching them, he wouldn't have wanted to miss a show like that. John must have seen Scott notice him, because he raised his drink to the monitor as a toast. Slowly, everyone else on the island migrated into the living room, and Jeff realised that Penny was right- the kids were growing up. His kids were growing up. And he couldn't be more proud.


	6. Raging Inferno

**RAGING INFERNO**

Scarlett could see 3 things wrong with her current situation: 1, she was awake, which mean the past 24 hours had actually happened and it wasn't just a weird, if vivid, dream. 2, she no longer had the roll of photographic tape that held the photos of the International Rescue craft. 3, the person standing opposite from her was holding that very same roll of tape.  
"Scarlett Dekker," The voice from the other side of the room began, having seen that she was now awake. "I have been waiting a long time to bring you here. Your record is most impressive, even for somebody as young as you are; 23 is not an age I would associate with being a career criminal. Yet, here we are. How does it feel to know that you have finally failed in one of your pursuits?"  
One of her pursuits? So this wasn't SkyeTech that had kidnapped her then, to berate her for failing in her task to bring back evidence of International Rescue's advanced technology. That meant it must be the police. No, not the police, the army. She had attacked a military base after all.  
"No response?" The mystery man said, analysing her silence. "I guess this isn't unexpected, but before I leave I should probably outline your situation. The way I see it, you have two choices- either you continue to say nothing, face 9 counts of murder and do a 10 year stint on death row, ending in your execution, or you answer a few simple questions and I have your record wiped."  
Scarlett smiled. He was trying to negotiate with her.  
"No response? Fine, have it your way. I'll bring in an officer to take you to your cell."  
As the mystery man turned to leave, Scarlett finally opened her mouth.  
"You can do better than that."  
"I'm sorry?" He said, turning back to her.  
"I said you can do better than that, and you know it. All I heard in you offer were a few empty threats. You know that you don't have enough evidence to convict me of any murder, and it's killing you to know that I have what you want, and there's no way you'll get it out of me."  
"I wouldn't be so cocky, but I'll run you through the facts as they are. You're right that I can't convict you of all 9 murders, not yet, but I'll tell you what I can convict you of- stealing the sonic disruption device from the ANRL. Turns out you didn't kill all of the cameras as you thought."  
Scarlett's face dropped.  
"The device was geo-tagged, and we managed to locate it. And guess what, we found your fingerprints on the device! Only your fingerprints. Now we can't prove the device killed all the men guarding Thunderbirds 1 and 2, but I'm not sure it will take much more to convince the jury." The man turned to leave again. "Think about it. And don't worry, you can say no next time too, but be warned. I'm coming back with an offer you can't refuse." He exited the room, leaving Scarlett to sit there alone, but then poked his head back round the corner. "Oh, if you need anything, just ask for Bob. Bob Langley." And then he was gone again.

 **3 WEEKS LATER**

It was amazing how deserted the Amazon Rainforest was. Many years ago it had been a hive of activity, with humanity exploiting it for everything they could think of. They had driven it almost to the edge of extinction, and as a result, many of the people working there grew a conscience and abandoned it. Now, in the year 2065, it had flourished so much that it was larger in size than it had been 60 years ago. But not everyone was finished with the Amazon. Sitting in the Degao region, 50 miles away from the Amazon River, was a small research station. To anyone who somehow stumbled across the station, it would look like it had just been placed randomly in the middle of the rainforest, but the reality was that, several miles below, sat the world's largest deposit of Xylinium, one of the world's rarest New-Earth Metal compounds. This project belonged to Ashton Enterprises, which wouldn't be surprising considering 2 of the building's 3 occupants held the surname Ashton. Neither Linden nor Holly Ashton owned the company, however. That honour went to Linden's father, Linden Sr, who had set it up with his best friend and long time associate, Randall Miller. Whilst Linden Sr was busy in LA financing the company's 16 worldwide projects, Randall was stuck in the Amazon, trying to help Linden Jr and Holly find the Xylinium.  
"Probe has officially reached 5 miles down" Linden shouted out from his seated console, most likely for Randall's benefit.  
"Integrity is still 100%" Holly echoed. The two technicians were seated back to back, staring at their own consoles of digital readouts from the drill probe they had sent underground 2 weeks ago. Encased in a shell of Titanium plated Obsidian, the probe was fitted with an electromagnetic interferometer that could pick up the smallest of changes in the landscape. The sensors would rocket off the charts when they found the deposit- at least that was the theory. Randall, as he downed his 5th whiskey shot of the day, hoped it was some time soon. He was fed up of the two Ashtons bouncing theories off each other.  
"Are we any closer to finding the Xylinium?" Randall asked as he turned to face them.  
"Err... No." Linden replied, eventually. "The Interferometer hasn't changed readings for the past few days. We're nowhere near."  
"The Spectrascope has moved by 0.2" Holly added, "But I'd guess the bed of granite the probe is passing next to is the reason for that."  
"Enough with the technical readouts already" Randall protested, lighting a cigar.  
"Oh come on Randall, we know you love the technical side of things." Holly teased.  
Randall grunted. He hated the technical side of things. He was only on this project as a part of his loyalty to Linden Sr, In more ways than one.  
"Oh, this is new." Holly said, suddenly returning to her monitor.  
"Woah" Linden added, not a second afterwards.  
"You kids better not be messing with me" Randall said, getting up from his chair.  
"We're not" Linden replied with an expression of hurt, as if he would ever make anything like this up. "Take a look for yourself."

Tracy Island was, for once in its existence, quiet. Everyone that inhabited the island was asleep, taking comfort in the fact that, at the present time, there were no emergency calls. Even John, up in Thunderbird 5, was asleep, which had become something of a rarity. There was, however, one member of Tracy Island who was not asleep; If you were going to guess that person was Scott, then you'd be exactly right, because Scott had something very important to sort out.  
"There's nothing wrong with blue."  
"There's everything wrong with blue."  
"What? What is wrong with blue?"  
"We're going to a snow party Scott, everyone will be wearing either white of blue. I want to stand out."  
Yes, Scott Tracy was helping Lady Penelope decide on what colour dress she should wear to the Pacific Snow ball in Sydney. After all, it would be their first public appearance together as an official couple.  
"OK" Scott said, "What colour would you like to wear."  
"How about pink?" Penelope said nonchalantly. Scott groaned on the other end.  
"How did I know you were going to say that?"  
"If you knew I was going to say that, then why did you try to suggest blue?"  
"Because you always wear pink. I thought it might be nice to try something a bit different. It's boring." He regretted saying that last sentence before he'd even said it.  
"Boring? Scott..." Lady Penelope said sternly down the line. Though she couldn't see it, Scott's face had turned a rather violent shade of red. He almost wished there was an emergency call to take him away from this before he made it any worse.

Unfortunately, that was exactly what he was going to get.

"The drone is now officially en-route. Camera and sound systems functioning at 100%, battery life optimal. ETA 3 minutes."  
"Thank you Linden" Randall said, moving over to him. Both Linden and Holly adored Randall- considering they had grown up with him their entire life, it wasn't surprising. He was practically a second father to them. "Now we can see what caused that energy spike."  
Linden wondered if Randall even knew the meaning of the term 'Energy Spike'.  
"Do you think it could have been caused by some kind of spy satellite?"  
No, he had absolutely no idea what the term meant.  
"We'll soon find out" He said out loud, keeping his thoughts internalised. "We're practically there."  
Suddenly, the picture from the camera shut off. Holly was instantly out of her chair, flicking switches and pushing buttons. Linden stared his screen, studying the readouts. Randall almost wanted to light another Cigar. But, as soon as it had gone off, the picture had reappeared. The 3 of them really wished it hadn't.  
"Oh that really isn't good" Randall said in shock.  
"I think I know what caused the energy spike." Holly added, pulling out the computer's data printout as she spoke, but Linden waved her away. He had already figured out what had happened. He had just wished he was wrong, but he rarely was.  
"Massive Solar radiation storm." He said. "It's no wonder that the energy reading spiked. That also explains why we temporarily lost the picture."  
"That sounds impressive" Randall commented, "But how can it literally set the entire rainforest on fire?"  
Linden looked back to the screen. Randall wasn't lying when he said the entire rainforest was on fire. Because it was.  
"With that much energy, all it needed was a little spark to ignite an inferno" Holly said for him. "And I've got more bad news for you." She handed Linden some readouts, Randall peering over his shoulder even though he had no idea what it meant.  
"Point taken" Linden said, handing her back the paper. "We've got to get out of here."  
"What does the paper say?" Randall asked, not wanting to be left out.  
"It says you need to stop peering over my shoulder."  
Randall just stared for 10 seconds. "That was sarcasm, wasn't it?"  
"Yes" Linden sighed. Maybe one day Randall would understand the concept. Thank god he knew how to work with finances. "In seriousness though, the massive dump of energy has created a rather impressive solar wind, which is blowing the fire in our direction. With all this greenery around us, the whole place will go up like matchwood."  
This was something Randall could easily understand. He started pulling out a set of micro memory sticks from the many computer terminals.  
"Linden, stop the probe." He commanded. "Holly, start the Jeep."

It was all hands on deck inside Ashton Enterprises' high tech hideout. The 3 occupants could all suddenly feel the heat, even thought the firestorm was nowhere near them yet. Randall especially was running around, trying to preserve as much of the project as he could.  
"We've got to get out of here soon" Linden reminded him, impatiently looking at his watch- no, not impatient. Nervous.  
"Yeah well we've got to wait for Holly to come around with the Jeep, she's the only one that can drive after all." Randall replied, and Linden let out a little chuckle. It was funny to think that Randall, despite being 27 years older than them, had no idea how to drive a car. Actually, he could **drive** a car, he'd just failed his driving test more times than anyone should be allowed to take it, so they had all decided that Holly, who had passed her driving test on her 18th birthday, should take that duty. Linden was due to take his own test in 2 months. Suddenly, Holly burst through the door, her face as white as ash.  
"What?" Randall asked, though he knew the answer wouldn't be anything good.  
Holly went even more white when she realised she had to answer the question.  
"The Jeep won't start."

Everyone in Linden and Holly's circles always found it funny when they said they were taking 'the Jeep'. It wasn't usual for someone as rich as them to want to drive a car that died out over 40 years ago. But Holly and Linden were not just fantastic scientists, they were also top class engineers. Infact, they were pretty much geniuses at everything, so much so that their father had brought them into the company aged just 14. They had taken a 2020 baseline Jeep and changed every single component. It was still technically a Jeep, but about 50x better. Unfortunately, that hadn't stopped the solar wind frying the battery just enough that, when Holly turned the ignition, the whole unit exploded.  
"The Solar wind?" Linden asked as Holly recounted the events. "That wasn't supposed to reach us yet."  
"I know" She replied. "But I ran some tests, and the wind speed has picked up. The fire is reaching us at an accelerated rate."  
"I guess we have one last hope" Randall suddenly chimed in, filling his glass with yet more alcohol. "I suppose it's time we called International Rescue."

John woke up to the sound of screeching alarms. They weren't his typical alarms, the ones for when someone was making an emergency call. Amongst other upgrades, including installing a second command console in his bedroom so that he didn't have to move far if an emergency call woke him up, he had also had Brains change the emergency alarm. As soon as he had bolted out of bed, John floated over to his secondary console and checked the scanners.  
"Solar Flare!" He cursed to himself. "Thunderbird 5 Emergency Protocol 7" He said in the direction of his console. A green light turned on as it registered his command, and within seconds Thunderbird 5 began cocooning itself in a giant silver mirror. "Computer, run full diagnostic scan." Was John's next command. A series of figures flashed up on his screen, then a long sheet of paper floated out of the printer. There were a few problems, namely core power cell overheating and the Nobelium on the comms array having been mostly atomised by the flare, but nothing that would put him out of action. He would definitely need to repair the array some point soon though. "Computer, begin programmes 12 and 13, core cooldown procedure." He said as he sat back in his bed. He wouldn't go to sleep again until tomorrow now that he had been woken, but with the solar flare heading to Earth, he realised there would more than likely be an emergency call at some point in the near future.

30 minutes later, it came in.

By this point John had already scrambled into the main nerve centre of Thunderbird 5, because the Solar Flare's attack on the comms array had left his bedside console useless.  
"This is Xylinium research centre calling International Rescue. We have an emergency and are in urgent need of your help. I repeat, this is Xylinium..."  
"International Rescue reading you loud and clear, what is the situation?"  
"There's a rather large firestorm heading in the direction of our research centre and we are trapped with no way out. We need International Rescue to get us out of here before that storm reaches us."  
"Understood. Where about in the world are you?" John asked, even though the communicator had already pinpointed the call location. He had to be sure.  
"Our centre is located inside the Degao region of the Amazon Rainforest, approximately 50 miles out from the Amazon River. The grid co-ordinates are GSE-5/YV-58."  
"We have the location. How long do you have until the fire reaches you."  
There was a pause. "I'm not actually sure. I'll hand you over to my associate, Linden- he's the technical one. If you need to contact me, my name is Randall Miller, I'm in charge of this station."  
"Understood"  
"International Rescue?" Came a second voice down the line. It was certainly... Younger.  
"Yes, this is International Rescue."  
"I understand you want to know about the Firestorm."  
"Yes" John agreed, "How much time do you have until the fire reaches you?"  
"On my calculations, I'd say about 2 hours. But the solar winds keep fluctuating and mostly increasing, so I can't give a solid estimate."  
John thought back to initiating his mirror dome- quite a large part of the solar flare had been shot off in the direction of South America. Oops.  
"OK" John replied, "International Rescue is on the way."

The incessant, repetitive beeping from John's portrait got Jeff out of his chair. It was rare that he would actually sleep in a bed, wanting to be close to the command centre whenever a rescue call came in, usually utilising his desk chair. He opened John's comms channel whilst also wiping the sleep out of his eyes.  
"What is it John?"  
"We have a rescue call father. There's a massive fire in the Amazon rainforest and 3 researchers are trapped. The fire is spreading at a rapid rate, so the researchers don't have long."  
"Fire, you say?" Jeff asked. "I suppose this could be a good time to try out Brains' new vehicle. We've never had to work in a full on fire before."  
"What's this I hear about a fire?" Came a voice from the doorway. It was Scott.  
"Scott!" Jeff said loudly, more in surprise than anything else. "What are you doing up? Actually, ignore that, we have a rescue. Get Virgil up, tell him we're going to need pod 2, and then get going. Time is of the essence."  
"Right away!" Scott replied, running out of the room. Jeff could still hear the shouts of 'Virgil' long after he'd left. Eventually when they both reappeared, Jeff gave them the co-ordinates and sent them on their way. Once they'd gone, he reached into his draw and fumbled around a bit, before pulling out a cigar. It was going to be a long night.

"This is bad" Linden said, pacing the room. "This is very, very bad."  
"Calm down will you" Randall replied, finishing off his whiskey bottle. He gave it a brief, expectant look, before muttering 'That was a waste of time' and throwing it in the bin.  
"Linden is right" Holly said. "The fire is very close to breaching the final barrier defences. Few more minutes and this building will be at its mercy. Where are International Rescue?"  
"They're a rescue organisation" Randall pointed out, "Not a set of miracle workers. They'll get here when they get here."  
"You're awfully calm for someone that only has a 26% statistical chance of not ending up barbequed."  
"Call it faith" Randall replied, sitting back down. He walked over to the mini-fridge and pulled out a bottle of water. "I may not have any idea what you two say half the time, but I don't need science to tell me you're going to get out of here alive." He held the water out into the air. "Your father always did want me to cut down on the alcohol. I thought this fridge was a little light."  
A sudden burst of static pulled them out from the conversation and back into the real world. A violent rush of wind echoed throughout the building. Linden wandered over to the window, then walked straight back to his console.  
"Outside heat signature has increased by 7 points and the structure factor of the outer walls are deteriorating rapidly. There are visible cracks in the Zorbium lines on all sides now too.  
Randall scratched his head. "I have no idea what you just said."  
"The fire has completely surrounded us. We're sitting ducks."  
"Sitting ducks? Now that's terminology I understand."  
There was another burst of static from the radio.  
"Will somebody make that stop?" Randall asked. "It's doing my head in."  
Holly, however, had other ideas. She rushed over to the radio, trying desperately to turn it on. "I think someone's trying to contact us. It must be International Rescue!"  
"Xylinium research centre, this is International Rescue. Come in, please." Scott shouted down the radio, but there was so much static it was almost impossible to hear him.  
"The solar wind must be interfering with the communications" Linden said. "I'll try and boost the signal."  
"Xylinium research centre" Scott continued, "I don't know if you can hear me, but we're going to try and rescue you using one of our machines. It will have to come through the perimeter wall, but you... can... ge... with..."  
"It's dead" Linden said, resigned. "We've lost the comms channel."

"Thunderbird 1 calling John in Thunderbird 5, come in John."  
"I'm here Scott, but your signal isn't very clear."  
"Yeah I know, there's so much interference here that I've lost the research centre. Can you get through the them?"  
John went over to his console, but he couldn't get through either.  
"They're in the eye of the storm Scott, there's no way any of us are going to get through. Im afraid you're on your own."  
"OK John, thanks. You get all that Virgil?"  
"Yeah I got all that Scott, going to be tricky. The entire centre is engulfed in the firestorm. Good thing we have that new fire resistant vehicle Brains created."  
"We're still going to have to come in from a way back, find our way through the burning rainforest. Then there's the problem of securing 3 unprotected people caught in the middle of the fire."  
"That's why we also brought _The Stabiliser_ with us Scott" Virgil reminded him. "If we can keep the actual building upright, it should protect them from the fire whilst we secure them."  
"Alright Virgil, that sounds like all we can do. I've mapped the nearest point outside of the fire, let's set down and get these people out of there."

"This is it" Linden shouted out to the room. "The fire has breached the last defence. We're completely open now."  
"Smoke!" Holly near screamed. Randall turned round to see thick, white smoke pouring in from under the door. Cracks began to form in the walls, seeping in yet more smoke.  
"Well, I suppose there's no harm in lighting another one of these" Randall said, pulling out another cigar. "I know you kids don't really smoke, but you sure I can't tempt you with one of these? They're the real deal, not the cheap crap your father insists on buying."  
"Forget the cigars, old man" Holly said, "And help me patch up these cracks. We can't stop the smoke getting in, but we can stop it getting in so fast."  
"Old man" Randall muttered, then walked over with a set of cloths. The heat was almost unbearable, but they held firm on the walls.  
"We can't hang here much longer" Holly said. "We're going to have to fall back."  
"You're not wrong kid" Randall replied. "I can barely breathe."  
"Bet you're regretting the cigars now, eh?" Linden said, and Randall couldn't help but laugh. Eventually though, they realised it was too much. Counting down, they let go of the rags and ran to the other end of the building. The wall cracked, and cracked, until it split completely. There was a small explosion, spewing debris across the room. The crack ran all the way up the wall and into the ceiling, until the roof began to collapse.  
"It's not going to hold" Linden said, as another explosion tore through the wall, sending a wooden splinter flying through the air and straight into Randall's chest. They twins could only watch as he staggered backwards a bit, before falling to the ground. Then they screamed.

"SCOTT!" Virgil yelled. "The wall, it's giving way!"  
"I can see it Virgil" He replied from inside Firefly, head to toe in protective clothing. "I'm trying to clear a path for us to get through."  
Scott closed off the radio channel, stepping on the accelerator. The large bulldozer-like scoop on Firefly pushed aside most of the burning foliage with ease, until they came to a large blockage, just infront of the building.  
"The perimeter wall won't shift. It's too solid." Scott said over the radio. "I'm going to have to blast it out."  
"Understood Scott. Standing by."  
As the burning sky lit up above them, and flaming debris rained down over the entire area around them, Scott backed up Firefly. A small cannon began to protrude from the front of the scoop, aiming at the blockage. Scott pulled the level back, and what was once the perimeter wall vapourised.  
"Right Virgil, now!" Scott shouted, prompting Virgil into speeding straight past him. Now past the perimeter wall, he was face to face with the crumbling building. 4 outstretched arms suckered onto the crumbling wall, holding it up.  
"The structure is sound for now, Scott, but I'm not sure how long it will stand. The fire has severely weakened it."  
"Let's just hope the people inside are still standing" Scott replied, pulling Firefly up alongside the building. "Let's hope we're not too late."

"Randall!" Linden shouted, kneeling by his side. "Say something man!"  
"What the hell do you want me to say?" Randall replied, sitting up. He looked at the splinter in his chest. "What the hell is this?"  
"That's your favourite phrase, isn't it?" Holly said, somewhat sarcastically, grabbing Randall's arm. "Don't pull that out. I'd rather you didn't bleed to death."  
"Holly, look." Linden suddenly said. "The wall has stopped subsiding. Something must be holding it up."  
"International rescue."  
Sure enough, there was soon someone knocking down the door. It took them one, two, three attempts to take the door off its hinges, but as soon as the smoke cleared, they could see the lone man in a fire suit, beckoning them over.  
"Come on!" Scott shouted, running across the room to help prop up Randall. "We have to get out of here now."  
They began to move, back across the room towards the open door, until Linden suddenly shouted out.  
"Watch out!" He yelled, pulling them back. Scott looked up just in time to see a crack shoot all the way across the ceiling, before the entire thing collapsed infront of the doorway.  
"Virgil, we've just had a partial collapse inside the building. We're trapped inside with no way out."  
"We've got another problem" Holly added, pointing to the opposite wall, which was now beginning to fall apart.  
"I'm struggling to keep this wall up as it is, Scott" Virgil replied. "It's already deteriorated too much."  
"That's it!" Linden exclaimed. "This building could survive the collapse of one wall, but not two. If that wall is already going to collapse anyway, then we let it, and bravo, we have a way out."  
"Virgil, you get all that?"  
"Yeah I got all that, seems risky though."  
"It could be the only way. This heat is getting unbearable, even for me, and I'm wearing a protective suit. We can barely see because of the smoke and its making it hard to breathe. If this could work, then we need to try it."  
"OK Scott, but as soon as I pull away, this wall is coming down."

The rescue would have to come out in two stages. Because it was so hot underfoot, Scott would have to carry both the twins and then Randall out from the burning building. The smoke was suffocating them, so much so that, even in the far corner of the room, it was smothering them. Holly had all but passed out and Randall wasn't far from joining her. Only Linden and Scott showed any signs of mobility.  
"This isn't going to work" Scott said. "There's no way I can carry the both of you out of the wreckage. You're too heavy."  
"Then let me help" Linden just about coughed out. "Let me help you carry them."  
"No way. The ground is too hot outside, you'll never manage it."  
"We have just a 3% chance of getting out of here using your current method. At least let me help us increase those odds."  
Scott looked at Linden, the desperation creeping onto his usually so calm face. Even he was struggling to fight back the effects of the fire.  
"Scott" Virgil said, "I don't mean to rush you, but The Stabiliser is, erm, on fire."  
"It's what?!"  
"We've been here too long. Even the protective coating on this machine has melted away, and now I'm sat in a burning fireball."  
"OK Linden, are you sure you can do this?"  
"C-Certain" He said in-between coughs. He helped Scott haul up Randall, whilst Scott scooped up Holly himself. At least she was the lighter of the twins.  
"Virgil, disengage! I repeat, disengage!"  
Virgil jammed The Stabiliser into reverse, not even bothering to release the suction arms. The wall was torn from its supports, the starting pistol for Scott and Linden to set off. The ceiling creaked and buckled, no longer supported by the wall.  
"Come on! Quicker!" Scott shouted, helping Linden to pick up the pace. They stumbled outside, and almost couldn't believe what they saw. The entire sky was lit up orange, with streaks of black and white spiralling across it. The entire landscape was ablaze.  
"This way" Scott directed Linden, as they made their way towards Firefly. Linden's shoes were positively smouldering as they reached the vehicle, which itself was almost lost in the smog. First they pulled Randall and Holly into the bulldozer, before Linden flung himself in.  
"Get the breathing apparatus on" Scott ordered Linden as he pulled Firefly back through the red hot ash. "It's over now."

Thunderbird 4 made very little noise as it moved through the waters of the South Pacific. Gordon was sat there, the look of concentration etched onto his face. He knew where his location tracker was taking him, he just didn't know what he would find. Then he saw the glint from his window, and headed towards it.  
"Father, I think I've found something" Gordon said, his radio open. "It's some kind of underwater cave. I'm checking it out."  
"OK Gordon" Jeff replied warily, "Just be careful."  
Gordon acknowledged his father's advice as he reached the mouth of the cave. He didn't really need to go inside to see why it was so important. It was like an underwater base, filled with docking ports and submerged buildings, giant gas tanks and even a submarine.  
"So Scarlett Dekker was right after all" Gordon said to himself. "This is one of The Hood's operating bases. Father, I'm going in for a closer look. The more evidence I can find, the better."  
"Understood Gordon, just make sure you keep the radio open at all times. I want to know what's happening."  
"Yeah, sure thing dad" Gordon replied, edging Thunderbird 4 into the cave. As soon as he passed all the way in, however, red lights began to flash. Even he could hear the alarms screeching. One of the giant boulders opened up, revealing the last thing Gordon wanted to see.  
"Missiles!"  
"Get out of there Gordon!" Jeff shouted over the radio as two incendiary rockets flew out of the rock. Gordon managed to swivel Thunderbird 4 around just in time to see the two missiles hit the wall beside him, engulfing his craft in dust. 2 more rockets launched, but by that time, Gordon was already gone.

It was raining on Tracy Island, but that didn't stop the beers from flowing. Colonel Langley had come to visit the Island, so the Tracy family had decided to have a strictly indoors gathering whilst he was there. Of course, no matter how much everyone tried, nobody could stop Bob from talking about work.  
"I tell you what" He said, graciously accepting another drink as Kyrano went around the room. "I would never have expected Scarlett Dekker to actually lead us to one of The Hood's operational bases."  
"What's going to happen to her?" Gordon asked.  
"She's going to be spending the rest of her life in a maximum security prison. Hopefully, The Hood will soon be joining her. Not only is he a danger to International Rescue, but also civilisation."  
"I thought you were striking a deal with her."  
"That is the deal!" Langley exclaimed dramatically, waving his arms around as if to make his point. "I'm sparing her the electric chair, but the truth of the matter is she led you into a death trap, and I dare say she knew exactly what was going to happen when you entered. Anyway" He said, changing the subject. "I heard about what you boys did in the Amazon. That was some blaze."  
"It sure was a close call" Scott said. "There were a few moments where I couldn't see how we'd all get out alive. I guess I have Linden to thank for that."  
"How are they?" Jeff asked. "Have you heard back from the hospital."  
"Yeah, they'll be fine. Sure, they had to be treated for smoke inhalation and Linden burnt his feet a bit, but nothing a couple weeks good rest and some crutches can't solve. Still, they're lucky to be alive at all. These rescues are getting difficult."  
"Well Scott" Jeff said, "That's what we do. If we hadn't been there, then nobody would have rescued them and they would have perished in the fire. They owe you their lives."  
"I'll drink to that!" Bob called out, raising his bottle. Everyone cried 'cheers' and returned to the party, although they all knew, deep down, that the next rescue call wouldn't be too far away.


	7. Hit Squad

**HIT SQUAD**

"Scarlett Dekker has failed us."  
It was a phrase Leviathan had heard all too much over the past few days. She had been one of his best operatives; Sure she was young, but she was also crafty and charming, able to worm her way both into and out of almost every situation she encountered. So why had she failed here? Were International Rescue really that good? Even when he had interviewed her, one on one and face to face, he hadn't been convinced attacking a measly rescue organisation was worth the hassle, with no guarantee the technology would be up to scratch. But if they had managed to best Scarlett, of all people, then they were something to be taken seriously. Leviathan had to see this for himself.  
"What do we do?"  
"Stephanie, my dear" Leviathan responded, swirling the red wine in his glass. As always, his voice was disguised. His identity was too precious. "We be patient, and we refocus our efforts." He then echoed what he had just thought. "If International Rescue can take out one of our best espionage agents, then they are something to take seriously. Now they are not just an intriguing business venture, they are a threat. So we take them out, and take what we were looking for at the very same time- the secrets to their advanced technology."  
"I understand, sir, but I was talking about Scarlett. She's in jail now, we can't expect her to not talk."  
"Oh she already is talking, if my source is correct. She's just not talking about us."  
"Excuse me, sir?"  
"Scarlett Dekker went to Terra Firma with another person- her partner- who was the person our money would have been going to, should International Rescue's secrets have been delivered. He not only survived the ordeal, but he escaped too. From what Scarlett told me, his identity is as much at stake as ours is."  
"You want me to find him" Stephanie replied. It wasn't a question, because she already knew the answer.  
"We now share both a common enemy, and a common liability. International Rescue is the enemy, Scarlett Dekker the liability. If he can take care of our liability, I may just be willing to utilise his services. But first, I must see International Rescue in action myself."  
"What do you have in mind?  
"A Russian client of mine is very interested in a certain something the World President is going to have with him in a few days time, whilst he's travelling to the Trade summit in Zurich. I feel it's the perfect time to complete both assignments. International Rescue will not have heard the last of SkyeTech."

 **4 DAYS LATER**

Prison was a dark, lonely place for Scarlett Dekker. It would seem, to her, that giving up the location of one of The Hoods bases hadn't been enough, because Colonel Langley hadn't come to see her once since she had. It seemed more than likely she was going to spend the rest of her life in the solitary cell she currently occupied. It was nothing more than a square box with a bed and a toilet, but she couldn't really expect anything else. It was her fault she was in there, after all.  
"Scarlett Dekker!" Came a sudden shout from outside her cell. "We will be entering in 5 seconds. Adopt submissive position."  
Scarlett hated the guards. They made her life even more miserable that it already was, and she had only been in for a fraction of the rest of the inmates. But she did as she was told, getting onto her knees and putting her hands over her head. The two guards entered swiftly, with one of them announcing 'Room Check'. Of course it was a bloody room check. Whilst one of the guards searched the cell, the other stood over her, electrostaff in hand.  
"She's clean" The first guard announced.  
"Then let's go already" The second said, but as the first guard passed him, he lashed out with the electrostaff, knocking the guard out in one blow. Scarlett wanted to shrink back into her cell as he approached her, until he took off his mask.

The Hood had come back for her. He was going to get her out.

"Let's get out of here" He said, offering out his hand. She knew. She knew he was going to come back for her.  
"Yes" She replied, taking his hand, allowing him to pull her off the floor. "How did you do it?"  
"For a maximum security prison, it was surprisingly easy to forge documents and get the right disguise" The Hood replied, closing the door behind him. "Now we just have to do a little play acting, and we'll be out of here."  
Play acting was the right phrase. The Hood led Scarlett all the way to the security office, which had its own exit from the prison.  
"What the hell are you doing here, with a prisoner too?" The watchguard asked in a thick Irish accent as The Hood entered his office.  
"Calm down Paddy" The Hood responded. "Anderson found a leak of methane in this prisoner's room. We don't want her to gas herself to death, do we?"  
"No sir we don't" Paddy replied. "I'll call Commissioner Wallace then" He said, turning back to his desk. As he did, The Hood pulled a silenced handgun out of his pocket, and shot the guard in the back of the head. Scarlett rolled his chair out of the way, and The Hood got to work on the console. Soon, all of the cameras were down.  
"Now we can get out of here" He said, opening up the door. Scarlett walked out, gazing up to the night's sky. It was a long time since she'd seen the stars. She followed The Hood, all the way up to the gate. He had stopped, so she did too. It was as if she was tethered to whatever he did.  
"How do we get out now?" She asked.  
"You don't" The Hood said, briefly shaking his head. Before Scarlett could respond, The Hood levelled his gun at her, and put two bullets in her chest. Scarlett fell backwards, hard. Everything suddenly felt so distant to her.  
"Why?" She just about managed to get out. Her prison uniform was now soaked in blood, but her face was as pale as a ghost.  
"Business" The Hood responded calmly, squatting beside her. "I had to prove myself to your old boss, Leviathan. You sold me out, and he's worried you would do the same to him. You became a liability."  
"Why... now?"  
"Because my car is just over the fence" The Hood said, even though he knew full well that wasn't what Scarlett was actually asking. "Can you imagine trying to get out of a prison if I'd shot you in there?" He took a pause, looking down at the ground. Then he looked back at Scarlett.  
"I'm sorry I had to do this. Working with you was fun."  
Then he was gone.

"This is Thunderbird 3, on approach to Thunderbird 5. Prepare for docking procedure."  
"Good stuff Thunderbird 3" John replied. "It's about time you got here. Been waiting to get back to Earth for hours now."  
"I thought you liked it up here?" Alan snorted. "Star man. That's why you're there for 2 months and I'm only in here for the 1."  
"Don't worry, I haven't given up on the stars. It'll just be good to see all the guys again. Besides, Scott owes me a game of billiards."  
"If ever I've heard a reason to leave. We'll see you in a few minutes John."  
"Understood. Looking forward to it."  
Alan moved back to the console, looking over the readouts as they made their final approach. Docking in Thunderbird 5 was a tricky procedure, and something they'd only done once- when they were initially putting John up there.  
"How are we looking Tin-Tin?" Alan asked.  
"We're looking good, Alan" She replied. "I've lined up the vector maximums and plotted the trajectory and braking parameters into the computer. It'll take us in to dock."  
"Thank god for Brains' computer systems. Trying to get my head around docking manually was a pain."  
"I bet. You spent hours in those simulators, I think Mr Tracy started to go mad."  
"Well at least he doesn't have to worry anymore."  
"Are you sure you're going to be OK up there Alan?" Tin-Tin asked. "It's an awful long way from home."  
"I'll be fine. We can't leave John up there all the time, then he definitely would go mad. It's only for a month."  
"And then two months after that, we'll have to do it all over again."  
"It's 4 months in a year. We'll see each other plenty of times."  
They were interrupted by the hissing noise as Thunderbird 3 began to dock into Thunderbird 5. It was an interesting procedure, with the craft going in nose first, but soon it was done. Now, for Alan, the work really began.

"Ah, Alan, there you are!" John said as Alan and Tin-Tin entered Thunderbird 5's main room. John was all ready, suitcase and everything. You would almost believe he was going on holiday.  
"You look prepared to get back" Alan remarked. "I don't even have half the luggage you do."  
"Well I didn't know what it was going to be like up here, so I brought pretty much everything with me. But, with all the rescue efforts I've been co-ordinating up here, I didn't even need most of it."  
"We'll live by your mistakes then."  
"Anyway, I guess I should be off then. Have fun up here Alan, it'll be a month you'll never forget."  
"I don't doubt that at all" Alan said. John followed Tin-Tin's move back towards the air lock and Thunderbird 3. He had his hand, pressed flat against the airlock release mechanism.

And then the alarms went off.

"What the hell is happening?" Alan said. He had no idea where the alarms were coming from. "Are we under attack?"  
"No!" John replied, sauntering back over to his console. "It's an alert system we had installed for Blackside prison in Sydney. Someone's broken out."  
"And we care about that, why exactly?" Alan asked, though he was grateful when John shut the alarm off. There were so many things he hadn't been told.  
"That's the prison Scarlett Dekker is being held at. Colonel Langley asked us to keep an eye on her."  
"You think she's escaped."  
"It's a possibility" John sighed. "I suppose I shall contact Bob. Maybe then I'll get to go home."

Lady Penelope was in esteemed company. As her train blasted its way through the Swiss grasslands, on the way to Zurich, she took a long look around at the many guests moving around the carriage. Filled with fur wearing women and cigar smoking men, it was not somewhere you would be without considerable wealth. It was a luxury train ride into paradise. That, however, was not why she was here. She had something very much more important to do.  
"I trust we are enjoying ourselves" Said World President Ian Roberts, as he sat down across from Lady Penelope and Parker with a glass of champagne in his hands.  
"Quite" Lady Penelope replied. "I do hope the alcohol is not going to impair your ability to look after the major banking codes of over 50 countries, Mr President?"  
"It's h'OK m'lady" Parker chimed in. "We took h'all the precautions, and tied this here briefcase to the Pres'hident's arm."  
As if to ram home the point, President Roberts brought up the briefcase, which was connected to the President's arm by a pair of handcuffs.  
"I think we'll be perfectly fine. How long until I get to meet everyone in Zurich?"  
"We should be arriving in 30 minutes. Right now we're just passing over Letizana Gulch."  
Tentatively, President Roberts looked out of the window.  
"I hate heights" He remarked, though he didn't do anything to stop looking. "If anything went wrong on this stretch of track, I think I'd have a heart attack."  
As if on cue, the train suddenly ground to a halt.  
"I had to open my mouth"

With the train stopped, what happened next was amazing. Everyone on the train simply disappeared. Everyone, from the guests to entertainers to staff, all vanished. The only people left were President Roberts, Lady Penelope, Parker, and two of the waiters. That should have been the first clue.  
"You've got your gun out" Roberts remarked.  
"Well spotted" Penelope responded. Parker followed her as she approached the two remaining waiters, who were themselves making their way over to her. They looked familiar, but she couldn't quite decide where from.  
"Hands in the air" Lady Penelope said, pointing her gun at the waiters. The first one did as she said, but the second was somewhat hesitant.  
"The lady said 'ands in the air!" Parker reaffirmed, so he brought his hands up. In them was a small device.  
"What's going on?" President Roberts asked, still sat in his seat.  
"Oh, nothing to worry about" The first waiter said. The hint of Italian that came through his voice made Lady Penelope realise exactly where she knew them from.  
"Drop the device" Penelope said sharply. "Drop it!"  
"I'm afraid I can't do that" The second waiter said. "But I will thank you all for so kindly keeping your tickets on you. This makes it all so much easier."  
In the split second after he finished speaking, he pulled the trigger on the device. All 3 of them- Penelope, Parker and President Roberts- lit up as they were electrocuted, their bodies throwing themselves around like ragdolls as their muscles went into spasm, turning them into heaps on the floor. The first waiter laughed as he walked over to the President, who had attempted to get out of his seat, and now found himself face down on the floor.  
"Shut that thing off Carlo, _idiota_. I don't want to be electrocuted when I take the briefcase."  
"Sorry Francesco" Carlo replied, lifting his finger off the trigger. "I guess I was having a little too much fun."  
"Just hand me the torch cutter" Francesco said, waiting for the tool, which Carlo eventually handed over to him. "I would keep quite still if I were you, _signor Presidente_ , or I may accidentally cut your hand off too."  
Francesco got to work on the case, blasting the handcuffs with the torch cutter. Using the weak link between the chains of the cuffs, he soon had them melted away. Now he had the case.  
"I thank you all for your co-operation, and I hope to see you travel with us again" Francesco joked. " _Grazie mille."  
_ But, just as they were exiting the train, Parker managed to regain enough of his senses to pick back up his gun. He squeezed off a shot that flew between the gap of the closing door, and hit Francesco in the shoulder. Then he passed out.

"Francesco! Francesco! Are you OK?"  
" _Voglio_ _ucciderli tutti! Tutti loro! Fanculo Leviathan e suoi ordini. Voglio che soffrire!"_ Francesco shouted in rabid Italian.  
"We have our orders" Carlo protested.  
"Just blow the damn charge and get us the hell out of here."  
Carlo nodded, pulling yet another trigger out of his pocket. "Are you sure we parked the train in the right place?"  
"Just do it!"  
And so Carlo did do it. As he depressed the trigger, the supports to the bridge simultaneously blew out. The train, with less support, sank, but somehow just held on. It wouldn't be for long though.

Jeff Tracy sat at his desk as he so usually did. Normally it was because International Rescue were in the midst of a rescue, but this time it was different. After the alarms had gone off aboard Thunderbird 5, Jeff had alerted Colonel Langley, who in turn had gone to the prison. They had found Scarlett in the grass, bleeding out heavily. The fact she survived is a miracle- or a curse- depending on how you approached the situation.  
"You need a distraction, Mr Tracy?" Kyrano asked, approaching Jeff with a glass of scotch. "You seem to have a lot on your mind."  
"I do Kyrano. I want to know who broke out Scarlett, just to shoot her and leave her for dead. I want to know why we've suddenly become such a target."  
"You run a big organisation, Mr Tracy. It is usual to become a target for desperate men."  
"I suppose you're right, Kyrano" Jeff said, downing the scotch. Penelope's portrait began to flash behind him, forcing him to turn his seat for the first time that day,  
"Oh is Penny. She's accompanying the World President to Zurich for a conference. She's probably there now. Come in Penny."  
But when the portrait moved aside to show Lady Penelope, it was a far different scene than Jeff had expected.  
"Hello Jeff" Penelope responded quietly. "I'm afraid we need your help."  
"Penelope! What's going on?"  
"We ran into a bit of trouble. It seems our trip was a bit of a setup, and now we're in real danger. I knew I recognised those waiters, but not until it was too late."  
"Penelope, tell me what's happened" Jeff pressed.  
"We got attacked by the infamous Galliano brothers, who electrocuted us, then stole the World President's banking codes. Then they left us stranded in the middle of the Letizana Gulch."  
The train suddenly took a plunge downwards, as if to emphasise Penelope's next point.  
"I think they've somehow weakened the train's supports. We're only just holding on."  
"Kyrano!" Jeff shouted, "Get me Brains in here. I need him to look at this."  
"Right away, Mr Tracy" Kyrano said, soon bringing the scientist into the room.  
"Y-You wanted to see me, Jeff" Brains said as he sauntered into the room.  
"Yes Brains. I need your expert opinion on something. Penny, tell Brains everything you've told me."

"W-We know that the train is s-stuck over the Letizana Gulch" Brains said, addressing the room. Everyone was here now. "For the Galliano brothers to have d-done what they did, they must have used expl-losives. I don't know if they intended for the train to h-hang on, or if they miscal-calculated, but they didn't use enough to fully destroy the s-supports. The train has a f-few hours left at most before it eventually gives way, h-however."  
"Well then let's get going!" Virgil said. "We don't have a minute to waste."  
"I agree" Jeff said. "Virgil, take Gordon along with you."  
"Y-You'll need the magnetic grabs and pod 1" Brains added as Virgil and Gordon disappeared.  
"It's going to be a close run thing" Scott said after they left. "It'll take them a few hours to get to Switzerland in the first place."  
"We have to try Scott, we have to" Jeff said, sinking back into his chair. "Anyway, I have another mission for you and John."  
"What do you want us to do?" John asked.  
"The Galliano brothers sole aim, it would seem, was to steal the banking codes from the top nations of the world. I can't tell you how imperative it is for us to get them back."  
"Isn't that a job for Interpol?" John asked  
"Normally I would say yes" Jeff replied. "But if Penelope is right and the Galliano brothers are who she says they are, then they've done dealings before with bent politicians and crooked cops. None of them can be trusted."  
"I think I understand" Scott said.  
"The only th-thing anywhere near where the train is s-stopped is an abandoned oil storage building." Brains added. "They m-must have gone there."  
"There's no guarantee they'll still be there. Not if they already had a buyer lined up."  
"We have to try, Scott" Jeff said, "Even if they're not there, we might find some clues. This is a code red situation, so you are authorised to use lethal force if necessary. Alright, I've spoken enough. Time is of the essence. Move!"

"I don't like this. I don't like this at all. Where are they?"  
"President Roberts" Lady Penelope said gently. "Calm down. International Rescue will be here shortly."  
"It's been 2 and a half hours" Roberts protested. "I can't believe this has happened."  
"Well you should h've 'ad better security" Parker decided to add. "But 'hey all disappeared with the rest o' the guests."  
"Yes, I know" Roberts grated. The train suddenly lurched again, but bigger this time than any beforehand. There was an audible snap from below them as the train fell in half, breaking in the middle and sending everyone sprawling.  
"Is this it!?" Roberts asked frantically.  
"No, but not long now" Parker said, hanging his head out of the window. "The central support has snapped I'm h'afraid. There's not much holding us up now."  
"In which case" Lady Penelope said, "I should probably make a call. Scott, are you there?"  
Penelope's compact radio burst into life. "I'm here. Are you OK?"  
"I'm afraid this train doesn't have much longer before it's plunging into the abyss, Scott."  
"Don't worry" Scott said. "Virgil is almost there. Myself and John have just entered the oil storage unit in search of the Galliano brothers. Hold on."  
"No, Scott. It might be too late this time. We might not make it out of this one-"  
"No!" Scott cut her off. "I will not have you talking like that. Virgil and Gordon will get you out of there."  
"Of course" Penelope said, appreciating Scott's unbeatable attitude. "But then there's something else I should tell you. The Galliano brothers are dangerous people. They have killed countless times and even worse. Each time they get put in prison, they escape. Capturing these people is going to do nothing so, if you get the chance, kill them."

The oil storage unit was creepy enough by itself- having been abandoned 6 months earlier, it had fallen into a state of dark disrepair. The only light was that which came in through the windows, and that wasn't much at all. But having to track two notorious criminals, who could be anywhere or nowhere, just elevated it that little bit more. Seeing two members of International Rescue wandering around with assault rifles just about managed to complete the surrealistic scene. It felt straight out of a horror movie.  
"We've just about covered the entire building" John said, covering Scott's back as they turned a corner, "But I feel as if we haven't even covered half."  
"I know what you mean" Scott concurred. "This place feels endless."  
They carried on walking down the corridor. John almost jumped out of his skin when a rat scuttled across them, such was the feeling of unease.  
"Hey John, come and look at this" Scott said, calling his partner over. "What does this look like to you?"  
"A massive manhole cover" John replied. "But what is it covering?"  
"Shall we find out?" Scott asked, although he had already walked over to the covering regardless, so John followed. Between them, they hauled the cover off, revealing a passageway below.  
"We're going down there, aren't we?" John asked, resigned.  
"Yes. Yes we are."

As Virgil flew over the Letizana Gulch, he realised things were a whole lot worse than they had first looked to be. The rail supports were badly damaged, to the point where the beam at the centre of mass had broken completely and fallen away. The two either side- the ones which were actually holding the train up- were cracked and split. If they didn't do something soon, the train would fall all the way to the bottom of the abyss, and there would be no survivors. It was pressure enough that the World President himself was onboard the train, but there was no way in hell that Virgil would be able to face Scott if Lady Penelope died too. No, he would rescue them all.  
"Gordon!" Virgil called out from his pilot's seat. "Are we ready?"  
"We're ready Virgil" Gordon replied. "The magnetic grabs are all hooked up and ready to go. Just give me the signal and I'll release them."  
"OK Gordon. Let me contact the stranded first." Virgil said, and that's exactly what he did.  
"CCT 05, this is International Rescue. Can you hear us."  
"Yes Virgil, I can hear you" Came the reply of Lady Penelope. "I can see you too. Any chance you can get us out of here?"  
"That is exactly my intention. The train has been completely split in half, so it's only going to be possible to remove the one carriage at a time. Which one of them are you in?"  
"That depends on which angle you're looking at."  
"No, it's OK. I can see Parker's head out of the window. We're coming to get you."  
Virgil lowered Thunderbird 2 over the carriage, being careful not to upset the balance with his thrusters. It was difficult, but he managed to find a sufficient power mode to hover without disturbing the train. He gave Gordon the signal, and the clamp began to descend towards the train carriage. It got closer, and closer, until there was no more cable left to bring it downwards. Gordon hit the button, shutting the clamp on the carriage, but one of the grabs wouldn't hold. There were only 3 sticking.  
"Virgil!" Gordon shouted. "The train is at too awkward an angle. Can we get any closer?"  
"Not unless you want this train to go sailing off the edge of the ravine. My thrusters are too powerful."  
Gordon considered it for a moment. "I'm going to have to go down there and do it manually."  
"That's crazy."  
"It's the only way" Gordon shot back. He fixed himself up with a pressure suit- something Thunderbird 2 always had on hand, just in case- and grabbed hold of the cable. Carefully, he began to slide down the cable, until he was level with the grab, and just above the wire. Now was the tricky part, to actually attach the grab. Gordon managed to stretch over to it, to clasp hold of it, but it was stubborn. It wasn't coming down to the carriage without a fight. Gordon, by this point, was just about holding on to the cable with his feet, such was the effort. He was getting close. So, so close...  
"Gordon! The supports are about to give way. I have to pull away!"  
That was all the incentive Gordon needed. With one final yell and a pull he forced the magnetic grab onto the train carriage. There was an explosion down below him as the supports finally gave up, but that was soon engulfed by the sound of Thunderbird 2's thrusters as she pulled away. Gordon was so busy admiring his handiwork, he didn't see the stone shard that has shot up from the supports until it hit his hand. Gordon cried out in pain, but at the same time, he inadvertently let go. Then he was falling, falling...  
"Gordon? Gordon!" Virgil yelled down the radio. "For Christ's sake Gordon, come in! Gordon!"  
Silence.  
"I'm alright Virgil" crackled the radio, and Virgil let out the biggest sigh of relief he ever had. "Just get us to land so that I don't have to hold on to this carriage any more. If I fall off this, there really isn't anywhere I can grab hold of."  
"Land" Virgil said, still catching his breath. "Got it."

"This place creeps me out" John said as they explored the underground section of the storage facility. If it were possible to get darker, then it had. The only thing providing light now was the pair of torches they had attached to their uniforms.  
"Well" Scott said. "If they're still here, then they must be down here. We searched everywhere else."  
They continued, wandering through the many passageways that lined the forgotten establishment. It was the perfect place to hide, if you so needed to. Scott and John found themselves on extremely high alert, constantly sweeping every angle with their firearms, ready to shoot on sight. Soon enough the corridors ended, leaving just one doorway. Scott cautiously opened it, with John covering at all times, and found themselves in a cluttered room. This room, however, had light.  
"That's not right" Scott said. "This room should not be powered. Unless..." Then he saw it.  
"GUN!" He yelled, diving on top of John just as shots rang out from behind an overturned table. Scott retuned fire as John dove behind a stack of crates, then he let off a few rounds to cover Scott, as the eldest Tracy hid behind a couple of empty barrels.  
"Give it up, there's no way you can stop us." One of the men behind the table called out.  
"The Galliano brothers I presume" Scott replied. "I think you should be the ones who give up. We know one of you is injured."  
"I may be injured" Francesco Galliano said, "But I'm still capable of fighting you off." As if to make his point, he uncovered his Uzi from the table and began to spray across the room. John had to shrink right behind his cover as one of the crates was blown off the stack and right over his head.  
"This is ridiculous!" Scott hissed to John. "I need a clean shot but I can't get out of this cover."  
"I've got this" John replied. "I'll wait until he reloads." Then, louder; "I can do this all day. You don't stand a chance."  
"Oh yeah! Try me" Francesco said, just as he stopped to reload. At this point, John fired off a few random shots in the general direction of the previous Uzi fire- when Francesco began shooting again, it was concentrated towards John's position. Scott took a peak over his barrels, and saw exactly where it was coming from. He took aim down the sights, then put several shots through the table, until he heard a scream. That was followed by a loud "NO" and the emergence of a visibly furious Carlo Galliano from the other side of the cover, wielding a set of dual pistols. He unleashed hell on Scott's position but, no longer guarded by cover, he was exposed, and it didn't take long for John to emerge from his own barricade and put 3 bullets into the Italian. With the gunfire stopped, they all ran over to the assailants.  
"He's still alive Scott" John said, having rushed over to Carlo. Scott was on the radio immediately.  
"Zurich emergency services, this is International Rescue. Require immediate medical assistance. Our co-ordinates are SZ-54/AR-86. Do you copy?"  
Scott got an almost instant response, so turned his attention to Francesco, who had only taken a flesh wound.  
"Where is it!?" He demanded. "Where are the codes?!" When he didn't respond, Scott let off a round right beside his head.  
"OK, OK! _Per l'amor di Dio!_ We were told to drop off the codes in that room" He said, pointing to another door at the far end, "Then wait here and wait. We were told to expect company."  
"I'll get it" John said, moving over to the door. "There's not much I can do for Carlo right now anyway."  
Scott nodded as John opened the door. It led into another storage room, though smaller. John took a look around, pulling apart the shelves, but there was nothing. No codes. He had just turned around, and was about to tell Scott, when he felt the cold press of a gun to the back of his neck.  
"Shit" He cursed. He walked right into that one.

"Drop the gun." It was a woman's voice. John slowly put down his gun, and the woman with the gun took that opportunity to walk around do that they were face to face with each other. At least John now knew where the codes were.  
"I knew someone would come looking for the codes. Whilst International Rescue are busy saving the World President, someone was bound to come looking for me. But I'm willing to strike a deal. Just who are you? Interpol? FBI? MI6? EuroPolice? I'm sure your boss will be willing to talk."  
"I'm not Interpol" John said, taking a cursory glance over the woman's shoulder. "I'm not FBI or MI6 or EuroPolice. I'm International Rescue. And I'm not alone."  
A gunshot shattered the atmosphere. John caught the woman as she fell, placing her on the floor gently. With the woman deciding to face John, she hadn't seen Scott creep up behind her and take aim. It didn't matter in the end. She was now most certainly dead.

"It's a miracle Scarlett Dekker survived" Bob Langley said, taking another sip of dreadful hospital coffee. It was, unfortunately, the only thing they had. "She lost a lot of blood, and I mean a lot, but none of the bullets penetrated anything vital. Once she recovers from this, there will be no lasting physical damage to her. Maybe miracle was the wrong word. Maybe it was just a sign from the universe that Scarlett is not meant to die yet. Maybe it was the universe giving us a gift."  
"How do you mean?" Jeff asked. Bob shook his radio, trying to get a better signal reception.  
"The nurse told me 5 minutes ago that Scarlett had just woken up. Once I've finished this god awful coffee, I'm going to go in there and ask her a few questions. Having been betrayed and left for dead, I feel that she may be more willing to share with us this time around."  
"I understand" Jeff replied. "Before you go, did you find out who she was. The girl."  
"Yeah. Her name was Stephanie Bordeaux: 26, from Vancouver, Canada. Records said she was an assistant at Voltan, a subsidiary of SkyeTech International..."


	8. Meltdown

**MELTDOWN**

"I knew it was going to be you." Those were Scarlett's first words since she had been through surgery to extract the bullets in her chest. "I just knew it was going to be you."  
"It's good to see you're awake, Scarlett" Colonel Langley responded, standing at the edge of her bed.  
"Believe me" She replied, "I feel like someone's driven a train through my body. But, if you're here, it means that International Rescue survived being attacked too."  
"Who says we were attacked?"  
"It's standard business protocol. I came after you and then you put me in prison. They're scared I'm going to talk about them, so they send someone to kill me. Unfortunately for you, because you managed to capture me, they now see you as a credible threat to them. They're going to come for you now too."  
"Scarlett" Colonel Langley said, acknowledging her comments, "I'm going to have to ask you a few questions."  
"Shoot" Scarlett laughed, but then winced in pain and decided she wasn't going to do that anymore.  
"Do you know who tried to kill you?"  
"Yes. God I'm so stupid. I should have known when he came to bust me out that he was really there to silence me. If they'd sent anybody else to do the job, I would have known what was coming. I could have prepared myself. But because it was him, I honestly thought he was going to get me out of there."  
"Who? I need a name."  
"The Hood" Scarlett said quietly, but quickly added "But he didn't do it for himself. Somebody made him attack me."  
"Could it have been the Galliano brothers?" Langley asked, but Scarlett shook her head.  
"They're hitmen. Contractors. They would have been more likely to actually do the job."  
"How about Stephanie Bordeaux?"  
"Yeah, she could have done it. She's very, very good at her job. We were friends, but that doesn't really mean very much when you do what I do. But I don't think it was her. I think it came from the very top."  
"Stephanie's records showed her working for Voltan, which is a part of SkyeTech. Do these names mean anything to you?"  
"They mean everything to me" Scarlett said. Her eyes were wide now, like she was becoming animated. "SkyeTech is the central hub. Everything we do comes out of SkyeTech, and all the other companies, every branch that comes off them is connected. Every one of those companies is secretly financed by one of the consortium, but they're untouchable. They're all untouchable. SkyeTech International is a legitimate company, and so is everything they do. But there is an underbelly, a dark side of the companies, hidden in plain sight. Everything that happens, happens there."  
"Who runs SkyeTech. Who is behind this?"  
"I don't know." Before Bob could interject, she repeated " **I don't know**. I don't know who he is."  
"He?"  
"I met him. He uses a scrambler to mask his voice and light tricks to hide his face, but there's only so much you can do. Whoever he is, he's male."  
"Thank you, Scarlett. I'll let you rest now."  
"Colonel" Scarlett said, before he left. "I am not dead, which means they're going to come for me again. International Rescue still stands, which means they're going to come for you too. We cannot run forever. Sooner or later, we have to walk into the spotlight and face our destiny."

 **10 DAYS LATER**

The Tayohama Nuclear powerplant and reactor complex was a secluded construct, sat on the Eastern coast of Japan, bordering a gigantic reservoir and a great deal of grassland. The location was purposeful, a remote setting to keep it out of the way of the bustling Tokyo architecture, but perfect for the water driven steam turbines that gave power to a great deal of the Chiba prefecture in which it sat, plus a lot of the other surrounding areas too. Considered Japan's most powerful nuclear reactor and run by one of the world's largest energy companies, Electric Systems inc, Tayohama had even won several awards for its efficiency and safety. For a plant over 25 years old, it showed no sign of slowing down any time soon. Of course, there were those still so against nuclear energy, but even they couldn't argue the usual cases about Toyohama. Being completely out of the way of public life, it was hardly a blight on the landscape- not for the vast majority of people anyway. Pollution was hardly a concern, with the waste water being pumped back into the reservoir to be reused, and any toxic waste was stored in a lockdown facility. When the facility became too full, everything was shot out into space. People had slowly come to accept that they needed Tayohama, as equally as Tayohama needed them.

But it is not perfect. Nothing is perfect.

However, if something was going to take down this power station, the last thing you'd expect it to be was a rat. But that's exactly what it was. Saddled within the inner working of Tayohama, this particular rat was just looking for a nice place to call a home. It was also looking to eat a few wires. That's where everything went wrong. For Danny Iannou, the 50 year old English-Cypriot head of the power station, he was only just beginning to realise the nightmare that would set foot inside his complex.  
"Another day in paradise" He began, speaking to nobody in particular. He did that a lot. "At least I'm getting paid for this."  
"You're lucky nobody from HQ ever decides to visit this plant when you're around" Kenji Nakamura, the head technician, replied. "If you complained around them then they'd probably fire you on the spot. This is a prestigious post."  
"But is there anybody around here as qualified as me, Kenji? The only reason I have such a prestigious post is because of my 28 years of experience with Light-Water nuclear reactors. Believe me when I say that I'm doing this more as a favour to Electric Systems than the other way round."  
"Regardless, the bosses want us to run some efficiency tests today, just to back up their records."  
"Well we expected that, so I'll get a team to run the tests this afternoon. For now Kenji, we just have to make sure we can deliver on the extra demand the Japanese public has placed on us. I don't think I've ever seen the control rods so high in my 3 months here."  
"Public holidays" Kenji replied, shuddering. "Never cared much for them."  
Danny laughed. Kenji had an interesting sense of humour to say the least, one that seemed to include contempt for public holidays. He was a damn good technician though.  
"Dr Iannou!" A voice rang out. The control room could hardly be considered busy, but there were 12 people currently working away.  
"Yes, Rita?" Danny replied. Rita Szali was the Hungarian technician responsible for general overseeing duties of the cooling systems. She followed the trend of there being very few Japanese people working at a Japanese power plant, with Electric Systems having poached the very best in their fields, regardless of their nationalities.  
"Firstly, it's the equinox." Then, when Danny just looked funny at her, "The holiday. It's the equinox that's causing us to have to up the power input."  
"I really hope that's not all you called me over to say."  
"No" Rita replied, becoming more serious. "We're losing coolant volume from the main reactor."  
"Seriously?" Danny said, a somewhat surprised look etched onto his face. "How bad?"  
"Just 2% away from the standard level for now."  
"That's alright then, we can absorb up to a 5% fluctuation in coolant levels without too much trouble."  
"I thought that too, but it's still going down. This doesn't feel like a fluctuation to me."  
"It could be a fault in the automatic regulator" Danny thought out loud. "Until it hits 5%, there shouldn't be much of a problem. But, just to be on the safe side, drop the control rods down a bit and invoke the manual controls on the coolant pump. If it is a regulator problem, then we'll just have to keep the levels topped up manually. Japan can wait a little bit longer for the extra power."  
"Yessir" Rita replied, typing in a few numbers to the command system, then flicking the manual pump control switch into the 'on' position.

But the level kept dropping.

"It's not working" Rita said, exasperatedly. She turned it off and back on again, but still nothing.  
"OK" Danny said, "Drop the control rods. I'm not risking the reactor core running away whilst we're fixing the problem."  
So Rita turned to the silver dial that regulated how far in the control rods were pushed into the core, and set it to maximum.

Nothing.

"Control rods are negative sir."  
"What!?" Danny replied. "Try the auxiliary coolant pump."  
"That's negative too."  
"Backup control rod mechanism?"  
"Negative. All negative. It's as if someone, or something, has taken the entire coolant systems offline."  
"That's impossible" Danny said. "The coolant pump and the control rods are separate systems. For them both to fail..."  
"Not strictly true" Kenji said, having now joined them. Evidently, he'd been listening in. "The major regulation components are separate, yes, but they all feed into the same mainframe. If somebody disconnected the actual mainframe, then it could explain the total failure. Would take a lot to take down the mainframe though, there's about 16 different firewalls."  
"Still, the risk is there; Nuclear power is targeted by a good few people who believe they can change the world. And it would explain what has been happening. What about the 'Emergency Core Cooling System'?"  
"The ECCS is on a separate system, though housed next to the mainframe."  
"Sir" Rita said, rejoining the conversation, "We've passed 5%. Which means-"  
"I know what it means" Danny cut her off. "It means the core is beginning to heat up. Right, Kenji and Rita, you're staying here with me. We're going to find whatever the problem is and we are going to fix it. I'm getting everyone else out of here, just incase."  
With that, Danny walked back to his desk and pressed the small button- one in a row of coloured buttons- labelled 'Amber'. A discrete siren began to sound, giving him everyone's attention.  
"Ladies and gentlemen, there has been a small fault detected and traced to the coolant system which we are attempting to get under control, and hope to do shortly. However, in the instance of taking no risks, I would like you to ask you all to leave your work stations and convene at the assembly point until further notice. Thank you."  
Everyone shuffled out of the room until only Danny, Kenji and Rita remained.  
"So" Kenji said. "What do we do now?"

After several phone calls, Danny got back to his two companions.  
"I've sent Hensen down to the server building to check things out. If this is a problem with the mainframe, then he'll know how to fix it."  
"We need to hurry" Rita said. "Coolant level has dropped 12%. The reactor is beginning to race."  
"He's taking a look now. If it can't be fixed, we'll scramble the ECCS and shut down the reactor."  
A few seconds later, Danny's phone began to ring.  
"Hensen! Just the man I wanted to hear from. Have you traced the fault?"  
"I've traced the fault alright" Hensen replied. "You weren't hacked or anything, not even close. Infact, someone went much closer to the source; The wires to the mainframe have been shredded."  
"Shredded?! But how?"  
For a while, there was no response. But then;  
"Oh you slimy little-"  
"Hensen?"  
"Rats! I've just found a nest of bloody rats in the server room, and the little buggers have been chewing on the goddamn wires!"  
Well, that was certainly different.  
"How long until you can repair the mainframe?"  
"Are you kidding me?" Hensen said sarcastically. "The wires come attached to the mainframe, which means the entire unit needs replacing. This will take days, and you don't have that. Scramble the bloody ECCS and shut down the reactor."  
Danny swallowed, hard. Shutting down the reactor was a big call, especially on a day like today when it was so badly needed. But the facts were not on his side, and unless he shut down the entire operation, the reactor core would be sitting in a steam bath very, very shortly.  
"Rita, initiate emergency cooling protocol. Activate ECCS."  
"Right away Dr Iannou" She replied, returning to her work station. There were two buttons, labelled 'ECCS 1' and 'ECCS 2'. She pushed them both in... Nothing.

Then the explosion tore through the air. Sirens began to blare. The doors began to close. Danny ran for the exit, but the giant blast door closed in his face, knocking him to the ground.  
"What's happening?" Danny asked, hauling himself up once the sirens had ceased.  
"The automatic security system" Kenji replied. "It believes we're under attack, so seals all the major rooms to stop anybody getting in"  
"But we're not under attack!" Danny said, pounding on the door. "Who the hell designed this place?" Then a thought struck him.  
"This room is soundproof, yet we heard the explosion." He looked at his phone, which was still connected to Hensen. "Oh god. Hensen! Hensen, are you there?!"  
"I'm OK" Hensen replied, then burst into a coughing fit. "The rats must have got to the ECCS controls too, because when you initiated it, the entire unit overloaded. That's what caused the explosion."  
"Anybody hurt?"  
"No, there was nobody else in there. But Danny, we've got a real problem on our hands now, because the entire building is up in flames, and that means the emergency cutoff for the water intake system is non-functional."  
"But without that cutoff, we can't stop the steam process in the reactor. We can't shutdown the system."  
"Right, and with the levels of coolant dropping, that steam is going to continually heat up the core fuel cells until the entire thing goes up. This plant is going into meltdown."  
"We have to stop the intake" Danny said. "But without the emergency cutoff, there's no way to stop it."  
"There might be" Kenji said, speaking up. "If we call International Rescue."

It was a nice day on Tracy Island. Sure, it wasn't blazing hot and the sky wasn't entirely clear of clouds, but it was warm enough to be laid out on a sun lounger beside the pool, as John was doing. There may be nothing like looking at the stars, but whilst he was on Tracy Island, he was going to enjoy it. Scott too was on the adjacent sun lounger, except he was far too busy taking to Lady Penelope to just lay there and enjoy the gentle breeze and the warm sun. If John was right, they'd been talking non-stop for the best part of 90 minutes. That ended as soon as the alert buzzer above their heads started to go off.  
"Looks like we're needed" Scott said.  
"Could be a rescue."  
"Well, I doubt dad wants to talk to us about the latest fluctuation in the stock market" Scott replied, having a little chuckle. They made their way into the lounge, where Virgil, Gordon and Brains were already gathered.  
"Rescue?" Scott asked. Jeff nodded.  
"Give them the details Alan" Jeff said, indicating for Alan to start speaking. John still found it just a little bit weird to see the youngest Tracy where he would usually be stood.  
"OK father" Alan said, then addressed the rest of the room. "We've had a distress call from the Tayohama nuclear power plant in southern Japan. Their coolant system has failed and the reactor is going into meltdown. 3 people are trapped inside the main control centre, and they can't shut the power plant down because the automatic security system believes they're under attack, and they'd need to shut off the water intake before they're allowed to initiate the emergency shutdown procedure."  
"Well why can't they just shut down the entire plant?" Virgil asked.  
"T-Tayohama is a r-radical and experimental design" Brains offered in way of reply. "The a-automatic security system locks out an emergency full system shutdown when in l-lockdown because it believes it could be an attack, to take the plant off the g-grid. They have to shut all other independent systems f-first to release the lockdown."  
"And they can't shut off the water intake" Alan continued. "The emergency cutoff was situated inside a server building, but that's gone up in flames and they have no other manual shutdown controls."  
"Unless we destroy the actual intake system inside the reservoir" Gordon offered.  
"If they can't use the regular measures because the server building is bust, what makes the emergency shutdown work?" John asked.  
"T-That runs off an auxiliary generator unit away from the main complex that's dialled into all of the s-systems. It's a once or b-bust measure."  
"OK I've heard enough" Jeff said. "We can discuss it more on the way to Japan. Right now there's a nuclear power plant about to go critical and not a moment to lose. Virgil, take Gordon and pod 4. We have to stop the water intake and Gordon's idea may just be the only way of doing it. Scott, take John with you in Thunderbird 1, and get those people out of the control room. Is that understood?"  
"Yeah, I understand" Scott said.  
"Understood father" Gordon echoed.  
Without needing any further words, the group dispersed. Virgil and Gordon down to Thunderbird 2, Scott and John up to Thunderbird 1. Jeff just hoped they weren't too late.

 **A Short While Later**

"Thunderbird 1 calling International Rescue, am approaching danger zone. I can see a large column of black smoke rising from inside the power plant's complex, please advise."  
"That's from the server building fire" Alan responded. "That's the reason we're having to do this in the first place. If the building hadn't caught fire, they could have shut off the intake and stopped the core meltdown themselves."  
"So it's OK to land?"  
"There's no radiation hazard from that fire, if that's what you're wondering Scott."  
"Good to know" Scott replied, "I'm setting down now. How far back is Virgil?"  
"About 15 minutes."  
"Wonderful, the sooner this is over the better."  
"Is that the main control centre over there?" John asked, pointing out the large building attached to the side of the reactor.  
"Looks like it" Scott replied. "The thing is built like a fortress."  
"They really didn't want us getting in" John mused as Scott finally set down. They hauled the cutting gear out of Thunderbird 1 and made their way over to the building's entrance. They were met by a giant steel door.  
"Right then" Scott said. "Let's get to work."

Danny was pacing the control room, up and down and up and down.  
"Will you cut that out?" Kenji, who was spending his time laying on top of a table and staring at the ceiling, a good 50 metres above them, said. "It's driving me crazy."  
"I hate waiting" Danny said as a means of excuse, but stopped anyway. "Rita, how's the reactor looking?"  
"No better" She responded. "Now that there's zero coolant left in the reactor, and the entire unit is bathed in steam, it's beginning to race even faster now. The reactor is now increasing in temperature at a rate of 0.96 Kelvin per second and is rapidly approaching the critical point. The fuel rods are stripping themselves to pieces."  
"Come on International Rescue" Danny said under his breath. "Where are you?"  
Suddenly, the communication control panel burst into life.  
"Tayohama, this is International Rescue."  
"Oh thank god!" Danny shouted in relief.  
"We've managed to gain entry to the command building but need guidance to get down to your control centre."  
"There should be a corridor on your left" Kenji called out. "Big corridor, lit with blue neon lights. Follow it all the way to the end, and here we are. There's still a blast door to get through though once you're here."  
"Leave the blast doors to us" Scott said. "We'll get you out soon."  
"Getting us out is not the problem" Danny said. "Because we need to be here to shut down the entire system once the water intake is cut off."  
"Our specialised equipment is 5 minutes away. Then we can stop the intake."  
"If you don't mind me asking" Danny said, "How exactly are you going to cut off the water intake."  
"Most permanent way possible; We're going to destroy the water inlets inside the reservoir."  
Danny cocked his head in appreciation. "Well, that could certainly work."

It was fairly easy to follow Kenji's instructions, meaning they found the control room in less than a minute. Like the shield door that had tried to stop them entering the building, this one was also solid steel. Scott and John both started at opposite ends of the door, forming an arc with their plasma torch, the aim to meet in the middle and save half the time taking the door apart.  
"Thunderbird 2 calling Thunderbird 1" Scott's radio burst into life. "We're approaching the danger zone now. How are things going on your end?"  
"We're almost through the door" Scott replied, "But the situation seems desperate. We need to stop that water intake at all costs."  
"You hear that Gordon?" Scott could hear Virgil say in the background, then "FAB Scott. Good luck."  
There was a loud, piercing sound as the door began to buckle, then a crash as it fell to the floor. It had gone faster than they had anticipated.  
"International Rescue, thank god you're here" Danny said. Kenji got off the table.  
"How's the situation?" John asked, though he knew it was bad. He just wanted to be kept in the loop about just how bad it was.  
"We passed the critical point 30 seconds ago" Rita offered as an answer.  
"What's the critical point?"  
"The critical point" Danny explained, "Is when the temperature of the reactor is so high, the protective cladding for the nuclear fuel cells has completely unzipped, allowing raw, radioactive materials to seep out into the core itself. The Uranium and Plutonium is at such a temperature to catalyse a reaction with the air, creating Uranium and Plutonium Oxides. It's almost like a fine dust, which then settles at the bottom of the reactor. In addition, the reactions create a large Hydrogen gas bubble; If the reactor goes critical, the blast radius will be tenfold what it would be if the reactor was uncompromised. That, coupled with the large atomic gas cloud, would not just spread the radioactive dust over the entirety of Japan, but also mainland China, Korea and several other countries."  
"Basically" Kenji said, "The critical point is where, if this place goes up, it's not just people in the complex that are going to die."

Darkness was starting to set in as Thunderbird 2 began to hover over the reservoir. It was still the middle of the day, but the black smoke that had been rising so rapidly from the server building fire was beginning to spread across the sky, creating the illusion of night. Not only that, but the large dome that housed the reactor core was also beginning to vent its own variety of white smoke.  
"Are you ready Gordon?"  
"I'm ready when you are Virgil. Thunderbird 4 is all set to go."  
"FAB" Virgil replied, his hand hovering over the pod release switch for just a second before dropping the submersible craft into the water. The pod lid retracted, and Thunderbird 4 slid out into the crystal clear reservoir beneath it.  
"OK Virgil, where is this intake supposed to be?" Gordon asked, trying to navigate in the great body of water.  
"It should be embedded into the side of the reservoir" Virgil replied. "On the side closest to the main reactor."  
"Yeah, I think I see it" Gordon replied. "Got it. 400 metres until it's in range. 200 metres. Almost there... Intake is in range!"  
"Well then what are you waiting for?" Virgil asked pointedly.  
"Patience Virgil" Gordon replied, "This intake has 3 different inlets. If any of the missiles are off target, it could cause a collapse that would obstruct the rest of the intake. I have to get this perfect."  
"We don't have time to wait, that reactor is going up any minute!"  
"Steady" Gordon said, though more to himself than Virgil. "Almost lined up."  
"GORDON!"  
"Targets locked! Firing missiles!"  
The missiles shot through the water, simultaneously hitting the intake in an explosive mess of metal shards and sand, causing what was fairly clear water to turn all that more murky.  
"Well?" Virgil asked impatiently.  
"I can't tell, there's too much dirt in the water" Gordon replied. "Hang on, it's clearing. Yes... The intake has been disabled!"  
"Thunderbird 1 from Thunderbird 2!" Virgil said, switching radio channels. "The intake has been disabled!"

Everyone inside the control centre had been on edge, waiting and waiting for the radio message to come through. Until Gordon disabled the water intake, the core would continue to heat up and the emergency shutdown would be non-functional. Then it happened.  
 _"Thunderbird 1 from Thunderbird 2!" Virgil said, switching radio channels. "The intake has been disabled!"  
_ Just to confirm it, the light above the water intake panel turned from green to red, and Danny leapt into action, throwing a key half way across the room to Kenji, who plunged it into a slot on the control panel. Danny followed suit, and in perfect unison they twisted the keys to the right. It reminded Scott a lot of Thunderbird 3's launch procedure.  
 _"EMERGENCY SHUTDOWN INITIATED"_ A computerised voice blared out over the speaker.  
"Control rods are all the way in" Rita affirmed triumphantly.  
"Christ" Kenji said, in a tone the complete opposite to Rita's. "Danny, we've got a problem!"  
"What's wrong?"  
"ECCS has failed again. There's no coolant going into the reactor."  
"What?!" Danny near burst. "But the emergency shutoff is a completely separate system. If the control rods worked..."  
Kenji began typing away rapidly, until a stream of data appeared on his screen.  
"Ahhhhh" Kenji yelled, exasperated. The keyboard felt the full force of his frustration, finding itself flying off the desk and into the adjacent wall. "The main valve has burst. Must have been the particles from the reactor that corroded it because coolant is going everywhere except the reactor."  
"We've got to get out of here" Scott said, but everyone ignored him.  
"What does that mean?" John asked, and this time he did get a response.  
"The control rods have stopped the reactor from going critical through a runaway reaction" Danny said, "But without coolant the temperature in continuing to rise, and the fuel cells are still stripping themselves of hydrogen. Unless we can cool it, it's still going to explode once the Hydrogen pressure becomes too great."  
To compound matters, the computer began to blare out again;  
" _WARNING. WARNING. PRESSURE BREACH"  
_ "Get down!" Kenji shouted, but it wasn't in time. Before he could finish his sentence, the wall section closest to John blew out, the force of the blast throwing him across the room like a ragdoll until he came to rest against the opposite wall. But he wasn't the only object affected by the blast, and as soon as he had come to rest, the large computer unit crashed into his chest, crushing it.  
"Help me get this off!" Scott yelled out, rushing to John's side. Rita joined him, and between them they managed to get it off.  
"John, speak to me" Scott said desperately. No response. "Come on John, speak to me!"  
"He's still breathing" Rita commented. Scott punched the floor, turning away. A couple of tears rolled down his cheek as he shut off the world around him. _No_ , he thought, _not now_. _There's still a rescue to complete._ _ **You still have a job to do.  
**_ "Virgil" Scott pulled his radio out, making his best attempt to mask any emotions. "The emergency shutdown has failed. Unless we can cool the reactor, it's going to go up. Any ideas?"  
There was a deafening silence, until, finally;  
"Actually, I think I do."

Virgil had been hovering above the reservoir, waiting for any word from Scott as to whether or not they had been successful.  
 _"Virgil" Scott pulled his radio out, making his best attempt to mask any emotions. "The emergency shutdown has failed. Unless we can cool the reactor, it's going to go up. Any ideas?"_  
So it hadn't been successful. Virgil scanned the area, skimming over anything is the environment they could use to cool the reactor, until he realised the most obvious solution was staring him in the face.  
 _"Actually, I think I do."_  
Taking the controls with both hands, Virgil moved Thunderbird 2 until it was positioned directly over the dome that housed the reactor core, which was now violently venting white smoke. He got out of the pilot's seat and moved to the back of the craft, then engaged the magnetic clamps. They grasped hold of the core and Virgil, who had rushed back into his seat, pulled the joysticks back and tore the dome clean off its supports. Working in his rhythm now, he carried the dome all the way over to the reservoir, and disengaged the clamps. A giant steam jet shot into the sky as the reactor hit the water, the temperature gradient rapidly equalising. It would still take a while, and use up the vast majority of the reservoir's water, to cool it completely, but they had done it.  
"How about that for some cooling?" Virgil said, expecting a celebratory reply from Scott and the gang. Instead, he got the complete opposite.  
"Virgil" Scott replied, hesitant. "There was an accident trying to shut down the reactor and John is in a bad way. We need to get him to a hospital immediately."  
Virgil's face glazed over.  
"FAB."

Neither Scott, Virgil nor Gordon had not wanted to leave the hospital that Virgil had airlifted John to in Tokyo, with Danny and Kenji's help. Both of the nuclear technicians had left once Thunderbirds 1 & 2 touched down outside the hospital in order to settle things down at Tayohama, but not before expressing their sincere gratification, and hope that John would make a recovery. They had been running Brains' experimental new cloaking technology, so they at least didn't have to worry about people taking pictures, but that was the last thing on any of their minds. It was only when Colonel Langley arrived a few hours later that they begrudgingly accepted his suggestion they went outside, to get some air if nothing else. That left just the Colonel inside when John finally came out of surgery, some 4 hours later.  
"Jeff" Bob began, having phoned his friend. "John's out of surgery."  
"How is he?" Jeff asked. For the first time since International Rescue began, Jeff Tracy actually sounded tired. Not just sleep deprived tired, but old age tired.  
"He's stable" Bob replied, running his hand down his face. "He broke 6 ribs, fractured his radius in 2 places and suffered a collapsed lung. John Tracy is a lucky man that those injuries are all he sustained."  
"How are the rest of the boys?"  
"Worried for their brother, naturally. I sent them all outside to stop them all sitting around, so I'll tell them once they return." He stopped, giving himself time to quickly rehearse what he was going to say next. "The doctors say he's going to be out for at least 6 to 8 weeks."  
"That long?" Jeff said, though it was evident in his voice that he wasn't surprised.  
"Yes, which means you're now an astronaut light until John is fit enough to go back into Thunderbird 5." Jeff went to say something, but Bob cut him off.  
"Don't you dare suggest recalling Alan from the satellite. Who would you send up to replace him, Scott? And John's not going to get himself back to Thunderbird 5 with a broken arm. I know the way you think Jeff, but the fact is you are a person down. I have some good contacts in NASA, we can get a temporary astronaut in until John is recovered."  
"That's risky" Jeff replied. "We are a secret organisation for a reason."  
"Yes, but there's no point being secret if you can't function. I can run background checks, the works. You will get the best. At least consider it for me."  
Bob looked into John's room as he ended his call with Jeff. The doctors were all still milling around his bed, fitting IV drips and checking their charts.

It was going to be a long night.


	9. De-Railed

**DE-RAILED**

Lunar Marshall, at just 20 years old, was something of a wonderkid. The top of the NASA academy, Lunar was famed by her peers for her incredible ability to adapt to unfamiliar control and situations, with a cool, calm head and nerves of steel. She was destined for the top, and that made her the perfect candidate for several high level positions. Now, however, she found herself in the launch bay on Tracy Island, sat in the pilot's seat onboard Thunderbird 3.  
"Ignition primed" She said, placing several switches into their required positions. "Thrust rate steady. Radar deflection shield and cloaking mechanism activated. Thunderbird 3 is ready for launch."  
"Do you narrate everything you do?" Scott asked from his usual secondary pilot's seat.  
"Helps me focus."  
"Need me to run through the plan once more?"  
"Nope" Lunar replied. "2 amateur astronauts decided to take a pod into space to enjoy the view, now said pod has had a pressure leak and we've got to rescue them before the oxygen in their spacesuits run out."  
"You're getting used to this nicely" Scott commented. "I've plotted our course to the stricken pod. Once we're airborne the computer will take us there."  
"In which case" Lunar said, "Thrust increased to liftoff parameters, magnetic clamps disabled. Thunderbird 3 is go! ETA 12 and a half minutes."  
As Lunar finished speaking, the giant ion rockets, no longer held in place by the magnetic grabs, practically flung Thunderbird 3 into the air. Lunar kept her right hand heavy on the joystick, just to make sure they actually made it out of the launch bay.  
"Launch sequence complete, switching over to computer control."  
"Thunderbird 3 to International Rescue, we're now on our way to the danger zone." Scott said. "Estimated time of arrival is 12 minutes."  
"OK Thunderbird 3" Jeff replied. "Make this a good one."  
"FAB."  
"This craft is incredible!" Lunar shouted out over the roar of the thrusters. "I've never seen anything like it!"  
"That's what sets us apart from the rest of the world" Scott replied. "That's what makes International Rescue so successful."  
"This is amazing!" She continued, throwing her arms into the air as if she were on a rollercoaster. The colour of the sky began to change from light blue all the way to black, until they were, officially, in space.

12 minutes later, they were at the stricken pod.  
"The pod is too small to dock" Scott said, looking at the vessel.  
"Yep, I can see that" Lunar replied. "Reverting to manual controls. Applying reverse thrust to stop forward momentum."  
"Hearing you narrate everything is going to take some getting used to."  
"Don't worry, I'm not going to be here for that long."  
"Just keep Thunderbird 3 steady whilst I'm here. I'm not floating any more than I need to" Scott said, having finished putting on his space suit. He exited Thunderbird 3, heading for the space pod. It opened easily enough once he got there, so they had obviously been expecting him. Sure enough, once Scott passed through the air lock and into the main pod, there were two people, also in space suits, ready and waiting for him.  
"You guys call for a rescue?" Scott asked, half seriously. The two men didn't exactly respond, as such, but did move towards him. It was when Scott saw one of them holding a small blade that he realised.  
"Lunar" He said into his radio, "Move Thunderbird 3 just a bit further back. I'm afraid this mission was a setup."  
He then turned back to face the two assailants. They were getting closer and closer, until the first one lunged forward with the blade. Scott managed to grab his arm, but the second one took that opportunity to punch Scott's helmet, near shattering it. That would have been a problem, except Scott realised he could still breathe. So the entire premise of the rescue had been a setup too. The second man then hit Scott hard in the stomach, causing him to bend on in pain. But Scott wasn't going to go down easily and, using his already low position, charged the first person all the way to the other side of the pod, slamming him into the wall. The second of the people was obviously the more skilled in fighting, because he managed to pick Scott up and, despite being elbowed in the neck, threw him back across the floor. When Scott looked up, they were now both carrying blades.  
"This could be going better" Scott said to himself, but suddenly the airlock door flew open. Both men stood still, frozen in surprise, before two gunshots rang out. Then they were both on the floor.  
"Well" Scott said as Lunar helped him off the floor. "It's nice to see you're not afraid to use a gun."

Neither of the gunshots had been fatal or even that serious, so after tying up both of the attackers, Scott had radioed Jeff, who had radioed the authorities to pick the two men up.  
"Does this happen often?" Lunar asked after both her and Scott had returned to Thunderbird 3. They weren't actually going to go anywhere until the spacebound police force arrived, just incase.  
"It's happening more and more as we're becoming widely known" Scott replied. "We're a big target for opportunists and the like. Never happened in space before though, so that's something."  
"Never thought being in a rescue business would be so dangerous."  
Scott laughed. "This is nothing. We've faced far more dangerous people. We still are."  
"Still are?"  
"Let's just say somebody has been hunting us from day one, and now he's in league with some very powerful people. Yet we still don't know quite how he knew who we were before we'd even started."  
There was a short silence, a time whilst they were just waiting, floating in space. It was peaceful, serene.  
"Can I ask you a question?" Lunar said, breaking the silence.  
"Sure" Scott replied. "Go for it."  
"You're the scout pilot, right? So why are you also co-pilot of Thunderbird 3? Shouldn't you have another astronaut doing that job?"  
"All good points" Scott said, stifling a little laugh. "Sure, Alan and John are the major space nerds, but one of them has to be in Thunderbird 5, and Thunderbird 3 requires 2 pilots. And, believe it or not, I'm actually a certified astronaut."  
"Are you being serious, or are you just trying to mess me around?"  
"I'm being serious! Back when I was in the Air Force, I was lead pilot for the R1 Stealth project. Whole aim of the project was to subvert radar by being at such a high altitude. I had to fly the aircraft to an altitude of 120 miles and stay up there for 30 minutes to test that the systems were actually going to work at such a height. When I eventually got back to Earth there was a guy there from NASA, who gave me my Astronaut wings. Still, I'm not Alan or John which is why I limit myself to second pilot, but I'm the best person for the job. You'd never get Virgil or Gordon in a space suit, let alone actually going out into space, so..."  
Scott was suddenly cut off by the flashing lights of the incoming police craft pulling alongside the pod.  
"I take it that's our cue to leave" Lunar said, and Scott nodded his head.  
"Yep. Let's get back down to Earth before they try to snag us too."

The air was thick with humidity in the small town of El Carro Mara, Argentina. It was an industrial town, one of the few left in the area that required hard graft and actual human employees, as opposed to the computer systems used by the majority of nearby settlements. Sat on the outskirts of the town was the local trainyard, the major link for most cargo transport heading towards Buenos Aires. Infact, American corporation Leminilla Industries used the trainyard for their operations so much, they had set up a little headquarters there. It was a small, two man outpost, but with so much of their cargo being processed there, it was entirely necessary. That's where we find the two men responsible for the day's events, and the subsequent rescue attempt. Martin Brink, an Australian who moved to Argentina after finding, amongst other things, love, was the administrator of the two. Luciano Vasquez on the other hand was a native to both the country and the town, and was the engineer in the duo. He also spoke remarkably good English.  
"Luciano!" Brink shouted as he left the office. "Did you order a parcel?"  
Luciano looked up from his work, which currently involved re-wiring a few bits and pieces on one of their trains, a cargo loader carrying demolition explosives.  
" _Sí señor._ Hopefully they are the new speed controllers for the train's automatic system. They needed replacing."  
Brink walked out to join Vasquez by the train, handing him the parcel.  
"It came from China."  
" _Sí, Sí, Sí._ I used one of my contacts in Shanghai to get the parts at a low cost."  
"Luciano, mate, I said we needed to cut costs, not corners."  
"I trust my source!"  
"He could be the ghost of Jackie Chan for all I care, this is not an official supplier. How am I supposed to verify this?"  
Brink then opened up the box, throwing one of the speed controllers at Vasquez.  
"You read Chinese? Because I certainly don't read bloody Chinese, and that's all these damn instructions are written in."  
"Don't need to" Vasquez replied. "I could fit one of these blindfolded. Or do you want to explain to Mr boss man why the train is still stranded here."  
"Don't try that with me. I'll happily tell them that you bought some Chinese rip-offs instead of going through the official channels, just so you could buy more cigars."  
Brink followed that up by snatching the cigar out of Vasquez's hand and throwing it into the gravel.  
"Fit the damn speed controllers, and let's hope to god that they actually work."

Tracy Island was a big place, big enough that it had several spare rooms incase of guests, whoever they may be. Lunar currently found herself inhabiting one of those rooms, the one that would be hers for the duration of her time with International Rescue. It was fairly basic, but that was basic in terms of what you found on Tracy Island- it was already 100x better than her accommodation whilst at the NASA academy. She wasn't doing much, just laying around, at least until somebody knocked on her door.  
"Come in" She said, sitting up. The door opened and John Tracy appeared. "You're back from the hospital?"  
"Yes" John replied, "I got released a few hours ago. I suppose I should at least formally introduce myself; I'm John Tracy. It's nice to meet you."  
"Likewise" Lunar replied. "I'm Lunar Marshall" She continued, offering out her hand before realising that John wouldn't be able to shake it, what with his arm being in a sling and everything. They shared an awkward laugh, and the tension was gone.  
"How are you enjoying the island?" John asked, joining Lunar in sitting on the bed.  
"It's like nothing I've ever experienced before. It's so... Big. There's so much to do here. And then there's the Thunderbirds; Where do I begin with those? They're unbelievable."  
"I had the same reaction when I first got to the island" John replied, a wide smile on his face. "I heard you shot a couple of space pirates on your first assignment. Some first mission."  
"Don't worry" Lunar said, "I'm from Texas. I know how to handle a firearm. I'll be honest though, I was hoping to actually go on a rescue mission first time around. I mean, I'd been waiting 5 days to go on one."  
"Thunderbird 3 is a very specialised craft" John said. "There aren't anywhere near the number of people in space as on the ground, and because of that space missions tend to be put on a high priority for safety. We don't use Thunderbird 3 much for rescuing people, but on the occasional time we do, we need an astronaut, which in this case would be you. I heard things here had been pretty quiet anyway, small rescue efforts that only really needed Scott and Virgil- if we get a big rescue, it sometimes dictates that either me, Alan or Gordon go with them to help out. That's why I found myself being blown up by an unstable nuclear reactor, nowhere near the stars. So you never know, we could get something big down here on Earth that you'll be a part of anyway."  
"You actually got blown up?"  
"Well yeah" John said, "Otherwise you wouldn't be here. Believe me, there's so much that goes on in this world that people have no idea about."  
"I'm glad I can be a part of that" Lunar said.  
"Yeah" John replied. "So am I."

Vasquez was standing inside the cab of the train, hands black with oil and soot, clothes soaked through with sweat. He sat back against the wall of the train can, breathing heavily. Fitting the speed controllers was hard work, but now that it was finished, they could get the train up and running.  
" _Oye_ Martin!" He called out, waiting for Brink to join him. "I've fixed the train."  
"Does it work?" Brink asked, jumping into the cab.  
" _Ninguna pista._ But the only way to try is by turning it on."  
"These Chinese rip-offs best work, mate, or I will personally see to it that you are fed to the crocodiles."  
"No crocodiles around here" Vasquez reminded him. "We have Jaguars instead."  
"Well I'll feed your skippy ass to them instead. Just turn the damn train on."  
Vasquez just ignored him and turned his attention to the train. Once everything was back and working, it would be up to the automatic computer system to take it all the way into Buenos Aires. He connected the final string of wires into position, and ignited the engine. There were a few seconds where it looked as if it hadn't worked, but then the train roared into life.  
" ¡Gracias!" Vasquez shouted out. "See Martin, I told you we would have no problems. The train is as good as new."  
"Fine" Brink said. "You know what, maybe buying Chinese wasn't such a bad idea. Now do the computer stuff and then we can put our feet up for the rest of the day."

It took about half an hour to program the onboard computer, a complex system that was far too antiquated to have much further use on their trains. At least, Brink though, it hadn't come from China. However, having finally set the right instructions to the train, they were about ready to go- or, at least, the plan was to get the train to set off in 5 minutes time, so that they could get off and away first.  
"Everything ready now?" Brink asked, already half hanging out of the train.  
" _Sí._ I believe we are ready to go" Vasquez replied, turning around to jump out of the train too. "Wait!" He suddenly said, turning back. Brink decided holding onto the edge of the train was no longer comfortable, and joined Vasquez by the computer.  
"What's wrong this time."  
"No it's OK" Vasquez said. "I thought the computer was glitching out on me. No problem."  
Brink sighed, almost daring Vasquez to find something else wrong with the train. He turned back towards the doorway, ready to walk away.

The train started moving. That wasn't supposed to happen.

"Vasquez! What the hell is going on?"  
"I don't know!"  
"Stop this frickin' train, now!"  
"I can't. The computer still says it hasn't left yet. Something else must have malfunctioned." Vasquez followed that up by unscrewing the computer panel inside the carriage. Once it was open, a large volume of smoke began to enter the cabin.  
"Jesus Christ" Brink said, "What the bloody hell is making all that smoke?"  
"Speed... Speed... Speed controllers on fire" Vasquez just about managed to get out before descending into a coughing fit. " _Mierda!_ "  
The train began to speed up, getting faster and faster as it joined the main track. Soon the entire unit was a runaway, hitting speeds faster than it ever should have reached, and far faster than was ever considered safe.  
"Useless idiot!" Brink shouted. "I knew I should never have let you fit those crackpot Chinese rip-off speed controllers. What the hell were you thinking?!"  
"I'm sorry _señor._ But my contact assured me they were the real thing."  
"If we get off this train, **mate,** I'm going to have a barbeque on the beach, and I'm going to serve your contact up for starters."  
Vasquez gulped, hard. Then he decided to do the only other thing he could, and that was to try and repair the situation, so he went back to the speed controllers and tried to disconnect them. Unfortunately, when he disengaged one of the wires, a shower of sparks shot into his face, knocking him to the floor. The train began to speed up even more.  
"Wonderful, now we're definitely heading for disaster."  
"I'm sorry Martin, I really am."  
"You know this track, right?" Brink asked. "You know what is going to happen to us."  
Vasquez nodded. "The bend, right next to El Casso Blanco. We'll go straight off the tracks and down into the town below. And with these explosives..."  
"No radio, no brakes" Brink added. "The perils of an automatic train. There's absolutely nothing we can do."

Alex Hurtell was sat at his desk, inside Leminilla Industries headquarters, enjoying his sandwich. It was something he did every day, and something he saw himself always doing. It was routine. What wasn't routine was the call he got from across the room, shouting out his name.  
"Alex! Alex!"  
"Huh?" He asked, looking around until he found his junior colleague rushing towards him. "What the hell are you running like that for?"  
"Sir" the colleague said, having to take large breaths between words. "LI02... El Carro Mara... Problem."  
"What kind of problem?" Alex asked, switching on his monitor. He already knew the LI02 from El Carro Mara to Buenos Aries had been due to set off around the current time, but what could have happened that required a man to run in, near dying from exhaustion, warning him?"  
"Runaway."  
Of course.  
"Tell me what I'm seeing here" Alex said, bringing up the live map, which had trackers of all Leminilla's trains. Alex traced the LI02 as it moved along the screen, far faster than it should have been going."  
"The LI02 left station at El Carro Mara earlier than anticipated. That in itself wasn't so much a problem, but the train started speeding up far past the safe limit for the track it is on. We tried applying the brakes manually from here, but the computer refused to acknowledge our command. We can't stop the train."  
"Are there any people onboard?" Alex asked, nervously tapping his fingers against his desk.  
"There shouldn't be, the train is fully automated. It doesn't need a driver."  
"I don't mean a driver. I know the head of operations down there, Martin Brink, and if anything were to go wrong with a train in his station, I would have known about it without you needing to run into my office. If he hasn't radioed in, it means he's not at the station."  
"You think he's on the train?!"  
Alex nodded. He continued to trace his finger on the screen, but now surpassed the train, going all the way until he reached the large curve in the track, labelled _El Casso Blanco._  
"There" He said. "That's where the train will come off. We have to stop it."  
"But how?"  
"Only way we can. International Rescue."

When the eyes on Alan's portrait started flashing, it startled Lunar enough that she almost fell off the sofa. She knew what it meant, but she was also the only person in the room, and she didn't know what to do with it. She thought back to seeing a previous message, when Jeff had gone to his desk and opened up the speaker. So she went over and did they same, almost celebrating when she pushed the right button.  
"Hey Alan" She started with. When Alan appeared on screen, he couldn't have looked more confused.  
"Lunar?"  
"Congratulations Alan, you remembered my name. I take it this isn't a social call?"  
"No, we have a rescue. I've just been speaking to Leminilla Industries, who have a problem with a runaway train. The train is automatic but the automatic systems have failed, and they haven't been able to electronically stop it either. They believe there may be people onboard the train too."  
"So they need us to save the people from the runaway train?"  
"... Not exactly" Alan said. "Yes, they want you to pick the people up, but we have more of a problem than that. You see, the train is carrying a large quantity of demolition explosives, and there is a bend in the track where they could come off. If that happens, you can say goodbye to the town below and all the people in it."  
"Oh wow" Lunar said, but her eyes lit up when she saw Kyrano enter the room. "Kyrano! Alert Jeff, we have a rescue mission!"  
"Right away" Kyrano replied, turning on his heels and running back outside.

Lunar found it just a little odd seeing Jeff enter the room wearing a Hawaiian shirt, but then he had been outside preparing to have a family barbeque. It would seem that would now have to be postponed, rescue pending, but at least it gave everyone something to look forward to. With everyone in the room, Alan repeated what he had told Lunar, plus a bit more. Nobody seemed quite sure of themselves.  
"A runaway train?" Virgil asked rhetorically. "Do we even have anything to stop a runaway train?"  
"We don't exactly need to stop it" Scott said. "Just slow it down enough so that it doesn't de-rail going around the corner."  
"We have to stop it at some point."  
"Maybe **we** don't have to stop it at all" Alan piped up. "There's an old, abandoned mine at the end of a parallel track after the bend. If we can switch the train onto the track, we can just let it crash and detonate inside there."  
"We still have to get it around that bend."  
"Could we use one of the elevator cars?" Lunar asked. "You know, the ones you used to stop Fireflash. We could strip the tyres off and run it on the track."  
"No way" Scott said, "The wheel rims are too wide, it would slide all over the place."  
"Doesn't mean it couldn't slow it down" John countered.  
"OK everybody stop!" Jeff practically yelled, ending the debate there and then. "The long we sit here arguing, the less time we have to stop the train. The worst case scenario here is that the train de-rails and explodes, and in any event we need to evacuate the population near the danger zone. So Scott, I want you to take Thunderbird 1 and liaise with the local authorities at El Casso Blanco to conduct an evacuation. In terms of the actual rescue, Lunar's idea may not be foolproof, but it's the best we have. I'll have Brains modify the elevator car, and then Virgil, Gordon and Lunar can all leave in Thunderbird 2."  
"Me?" Lunar said in surprise.  
"So long as you think you're up for it" Jeff said.  
"Of course! I just can't believe I'm getting this opportunity."  
Jeff smiled. "Remember your primary mission is to save people. If there are people onboard that train, get them out ASAP. Understood?"  
"Certainly" Virgil said.  
"Then everyone get prepared. No doubt Brains will be able to strip the tyres in about 5 minutes flat."

"Do you see that?" Brink asked, looking out of the train and into the distance.  
"The bend" Vasquez replied. "On the horizon."  
"How long do you think that gives us?"  
"I don't know, maybe 5 minutes before the bend comes up. Can't be much more at this speed."  
"Well" Brink said, "At least that gives us enough time to finish this card game."  
"You are seriously calm for a man who knows he is about to die" Vasquez said, the sweat almost pouring off his forehead- and not due to the heat either.  
"I am content in the knowledge that, if I am to die, at least it wasn't my fault."  
" _Sí,_ is mine."  
"Believe it or not, I don't blame you either. You've always been a bit of a gullible idiot; I could tell you the sky turns green every evening before a full moon and 9 times out of 10 you'd believe me. So no, I blame whichever contact of yours knew you would accept such awful equipment."  
Brink threw down his cards.  
"20."  
"Ahhhh" Vasquez replied, throwing his down too. "19."  
"You owe me a drink in the afterlife" Brink laughed, but then stopped. "Do you hear that?"  
"I do" Vasquez said, sticking his head out of the train. "Hey, I know who that is!"  
"Who?"  
"International Rescue!"

"Thunderbird 2 from Thunderbird 1" Virgil heard over his radio. "Thunderbird 2, come in."  
"Loud and clear Scott" Virgil replied. "How's the evacuation going?"  
"Too slowly" Scott replied. "We've got everyone out from next to the track, but there are so many people here, it's impossible we'll get everyone out before the train comes round that bend. It's up to you now."  
"FAB Scott" Virgil replied. "You hear that Lunar?"  
"Yeah, I heard that. elevator car is just about ready to go. I need a few more meters per second though, don't want the train to knock me straight off the track."  
"Got it" Virgil replied, putting just a little more power into Thunderbird 2.  
"Perfect!" Lunar shouted. "Lower the pod!"  
Virgil smiled. You almost couldn't tell Lunar was on her very first Earth based rescue, such was the knowledge and command she had over her equipment. Then he began to lower the pod, just low enough that he could open the pod door, but so that it was still attached to Thunderbird 2.  
"System check complete. Release the car!"  
On her command, Virgil punched the button on his dash, and watched as the elevator car flew out of the back of the pod.

Lunar calmed her breathing. It was an interesting feeling, going backwards when she was actually going forwards. The elevator car hung in the air for what felt like forever, free falling, until it suddenly crashed down onto the tracks below it. Just a split second later, the train rammed into the back of the car, throwing Lunar forwards. She quickly regained her composure, before activating the brakes. Sparks shot into the air as metal ground against metal, a high pitched squealing sound filling the air. Smoke began to emerge from the rims, and Lunar was almost worried that the elevator car was going to catch fire.  
"Something tells me that I may not have thought this through very well" Lunar said over the radio. "The train is massive. I don't think this elevator car is going to be able to stop it."  
"You don't have to stop it, remember?" Virgil replied over the radio. "You just have to slow it down enough to get round the bend."  
"How much more do I need to slow this thing down by?"  
"Er, Brains' calculations said that this was a 1800m radius curve... So the train can have a maximum safe speed of 56m/s. So you need to slow it down by a further 6m/s."  
"Jesus Christ" Lunar said. "Brakes are on maximum, but the car is sliding. I'm not being able to put my full force behind the train. I'm going to try and get the elevator car straight again."  
Lunar steadied herself, then disengaged the breaks. The elevator car almost snapped back straight, and Lunar hit the brakes again as soon as it did. The train ploughed into the back of her once again, but now with more control she was keeping the car straight, and hopefully slowing the train down fast enough."

"17" Martin Brink said, spreading his cards across the floor.  
"Aha!" Vasquez shouted. "20!"  
"You jammy bastard."  
"If it keeps going like this _señor,_ you are going to be owing me a drink."  
Brink threw the deck of cards at Vasquez. "If you deal me another awful pair of cards, I am going to throw you out of this train, and International Rescue can spend their time scraping what's left of you off the floor."  
"International Rescue... Do you think we should let them know we're here, offer to help?"  
"No" Brink said, almost apologetically. "They know what they're doing. Besides we have no way of contacting them, plus I have a card game to win. Alcohol is expensive around here."

The bend was approaching fast. Too fast.  
"How am I looking Virgil?"  
"You're still going too fast. You need to cut another 2m/s off your speed."  
"OK, not good" Lunar said. "I have no option, I'm going to have to use the emergency brake."  
"Do it."  
The emergency brake wasn't actually a brake. It was two jets on the front end of the elevator car that would almost work like reverse thrust. Lunar hit the button, then almost flew out of her seat as the car jolted, pressure from both sides almost threatening to crush the vehicle. There was another jolt, but this time Lunar realised that it was a sideways jolt- they were going round the curve. They were going round the curve and the train was still on the track. They were doing it.

And then the emergency brake shut off.

With no reverse pressure, the elevator car's rims hit the side of the track and flipped the entire unit over. Suddenly the elevator car was no longer on the tracks, but rolling down the hill beside the track. Lunar didn't need to look to see where she was going to end up.

"Lunar!" Virgil shouted over the radio. "Lunar! Come in!"  
"I'm fine" Lunar replied, somewhat wearily. "I just hope whoever owns this house has insurance."  
"Good... That's good."  
"The train?!" Lunar suddenly shouted into the radio.  
"It worked. The emergency brake seems to have worked, it slowed down enough that the train is going to get round the bend. Gordon has just connected himself to the winch and is going to cut the cars' link before we reach the junction. We're fighting against time, again."

"These links are solid" Gordon shouted over the radio. "The torch cutter isn't getting through them fast enough."  
"You've got to try Gordon" Virgil replied. "We're fast approaching the interchange."  
"I know, I know. But they're almost fused shut."  
Gordon kept at it, going as close the actual join as he could. The heat, even in his suit, was nearly unbearable. The flame would occasionally flash back into his face, momentarily blinding him. It was all slowing him down. Not to mention the fact Thunderbird 2 had to stay in a very stationary line for him to do this.  
"Come on!" He yelled at nobody, hitting the link in frustration. But, in doing that, it cracked. It had cracked all the way down the middle. Gordon set back at it with the torch cutter, aggravating the crack further.  
"Gordon, 10 seconds."  
Gordon threw the torch cutter aside, then stamped down hard on the link. It cracked further, but didn't shatter. So he hit it again, almost blowing the link into two pieces, severing the connection. He could instantly feel the cars behind him drift away, and then the clink as the track behind him changed.  
"Whoa. We did it?"  
"Oh yeah Gordon, we did it. Now winch yourself up here so that we can pick these guys up."

"19" Vasquez said, sat on board the deck of Thunderbird 2. He tensed his hands as he drew away, waiting for Brink to make a move. But Martin Brink only sighed as Vasquez revealed his cards, then threw his down on the ground with a triumphant screech.  
"21! Ahahaha!"  
"Oh come on!" Vasquez replied, arms up in the air.  
"You owe me a drink."  
Over in the cockpit, Virgil looked back to Gordon with a confused smirk.  
"They've just been saved from almost certain death, and they're playing a game of cards?"  
"That's nothing. They were playing cards whilst I was pulling them out of the train."  
"Crazy people."  
"Have you heard anything from Lunar?" Gordon said, changing the subject.  
"Scott picked her up. She did crash in El Casso Blanco after all. Elevator car is a write off though, but we'll bring it back anyway to see if Brains can salvage anything."  
"All in all then" Gordon said, "I think this was a very successful rescue."  
"If I wasn't flying right now, I would certainly drink to that" Virgil replied, high fiving Gordon as Thunderbird 2 sailed over the horizon once again.


	10. Target Part I

**TARGET**

The Hood loved being in the shadows. He was a chameleon, blending into his surroundings. Nobody would ever know that he was there. But to complete his task, he had to emerge from the shadows and walk into the light. The cool air-conditioned breeze blew over him as he walked down the corridor, and approached a door at the far end. The door was guarded by two heavily armed personnel, but that would never deter him.  
"I must enter this room and see my patient" The Hood said to the guards, feigning ignorance.  
"Identification, sir" One of the guards said, completely deadpan. "This is a restricted zone."  
"Of course" The Hood said, reaching his hand into his pocket. He slowly drew out a laminated card, all the time staring the guards down with his piercing yellow eyes. The guards seemed unmoved, so he focused harder, the dark slits across his eyes narrowing until they were just a line across his iris.  
"Of course sir" The same guard said eventually, opening the door for him. The Hood grasped his head, trying to shake off the awful feeling he always got when using his power, then walked through the door. Showtime.

Scarlett recognised The Hood the moment he walked into her room. She wanted to scream out, attract someone's attention, but she couldn't. She couldn't move. She couldn't do anything.  
"Don't struggle" The Hood said, standing infront of her bed with a blue-black sphere in his hand. "It'll only make the containment field work harder against you, which in turn will be more painful for you in the long run."  
Scarlett completely ignored him, trying with all her will to break free. She was screaming in her own mind, but it just would not come out. Her head began to hurt, pounding against the rest of her body.  
"You're still struggling" The Hood said. "I can tell. There's nothing worth struggling for anymore, you've lost. I had always enjoyed working with you Scarlett, you were one of the few people who truly understood the art of espionage. But you know how SkyeTech work; It's a minor miracle that you managed to survive this long after being caught, but now we really must end this. And, I know, you would want to warn me about SkyeTech, to tell me that they're just using me for my skills and then they'll stab me in the back like they have with you. But don't worry, I'm only using them to further my own goals. Soon I will be rid of them and I will have the Thunderbirds. I've gone on long enough. It's time to sleep now Scarlett, for one last time."  
The Hood walked over to the side of Scarlett's bed, where her IV line was, and took a little silver container out of his pocket. When he opened it up, there was a syringe inside, filled with a blue liquid. He jammed the syringe into the line, then watched as what had been a clear liquid changed in colour and smiled.  
"I'm afraid this will be very painful" The Hood said, walking back away and heading towards the door. "I suppose you expected nothing less. I wish this could have ended another way, but I suppose I will have to live on in the knowledge that we could have done great things together. What I do next, I will do in your memory, I promise you that. Goodbye Scarlett."  
Scarlett could only watch as The Hood walked out of the door, leaving her there as her body burned up. The containment field was gone now, but she was in so much pain that there might aswell have been no difference. He body was seizing up. She wanted to screech and shout in agony, but there was nothing. There was nothing left for her anymore.

Only oblivion.

Leviathan looked out of the window, admiring the view over Washington DC. It was a beautiful place, one he had grown quite fond of during his time there. He wished he could stay there longer, but he was always busy one way or another. Running the world's largest conglomerate was not a task to be taken lightly, not when people were trying to take you down from the inside and out. But there were more threats that just people that wanted to take you down. People that would not conform, who would not join, they were just as much of a risk, because they could turn people against you. Leviathan was at the end of his patience with those people. So he was going to make a point by attacking the largest non-conformer of them all- Linden Ashton Sr. But he wasn't going to kill him, no. He wanted to send a message to everyone else out there, that they had the potential to take them out. Besides, Leviathan had another, much more lucrative target out there. He was just going to have to bide his time.

John Colazo liked to think he was very good at his job. Of course, being an assassin for hire, John Colazo was not his real name. His real name had been lost to the records a long time ago, so much that he considered the person he was then and the person he was now to be completely different people. Being an assassin was fun. It wasn't even the murder that was the fun part either, it was the planning, the preparation. It was seeing the plan being put into action. He always enjoyed taking assignments from SkyeTech, because they were the most extravagant or interesting to execute. What he hadn't expected, however, was to be asked to target someone but not actually kill them. It was something different. He liked that. He also liked Linden Ashton's penthouse office inside Ashton Tower; There were plenty of places he could hide explosive charges and nobody notice the fact they were there at all. That, and the fact Linden Ashton owned a very comfortable chair. Barring the 3 minute break he had taken in said chair, John Colazo was in and out of Ashton tower in 5 minutes flat, giving nobody time to question why there was a gas technician in a building that ran exclusively on solar power. Sometimes, the perfect disguise was one that shouldn't work at all.

Whenever Jeff Tracy called for a meeting, something important was about to happen. It wasn't for a rescue mission, because otherwise they would have been told so straight away. Scott watched Virgil, the last of the group, walk in, then turned his attention to Jeff, who was still sat behind his desk.  
"Today marks 3 months since International Rescue began operations" He began. "That means today would also have been the day that John would have relieved Alan from satellite duty and begun his 2 month stint. Of course, the events at Tayohama have changed things, and therefore a decision has to be made; Somebody has to man the satellite at all times. Fortunately, we've been blessed with the addition of Lunar, and that gives us more options. I've been thinking over the past few days what we should do, and I've come to a decision. John has not yet fully recovered from his injuries, and cannot operate Thunderbird 5 by himself, but as John has relayed to me that he wants to go back, I've decided that John and Alan will join forces together on Thunderbird 5 for the next month to ease John back into it, which will make Lunar the primary controller of Thunderbird 3 over that period. Is everyone clear?"  
"You mean I get to stay here?" Lunar asked, slightly confused. "I thought I was only going to be here until John went back into Thunderbird 5?"  
"That was the original plan" Jeff said. "But with both Alan and John in the space station, I need an astronaut to pilot Thunderbird 3 on rescues. Besides, I've been impressed with you since you've been here. I would like you to stay on, full time as secondary astronaut, if that's what you want."  
"Wow, ah, thank you so much!" Lunar exclaimed, looking around the room. Her eyes fell on John, who simply smiled. "I won't let you down, I promise."  
"I don't doubt that. Now, if everyone else is OK with arrangements, let's get John up to the satellite. The less time we waste the better."

Lunar had already familiarised herself with Thunderbird 3's controls so much that a short trip straight up to Thunderbird 5 was no problem at all. It all still amazed her though.  
"Initiating computer control for docking procedure" She said, leaving Thunderbird 3 to perform the procedure by itself.  
"You're good at this" John said, sitting back in the secondary pilot's seat. "I'm not surprised dad wants to keep you on, you could become quite an asset to International Rescue."  
"I honestly can't believe he wants me to stay. I know I've only been here a few weeks, but this has been the best experience of my life. Sometimes I can't believe it's real."  
"I understand the feeling. Being in the satellite, hearing all the emergency calls; It opens your eyes to the world around you. Going on these missions, seeing the lives of the people you save. It's a special feeling."  
"Did you think you were making the right decision when you left NASA for this?"  
"Absolutely" John said, leaning forward. "This isn't the kind of job you could do half-heartedly. You know if you want to do it."  
"You know, I really want to go on a proper space mission. The closest I got was when myself and Scott came across a couple of space pirates and I had to shoot them."  
John laughed, "Well I'm sure you will soon enough. Space is not heavily populated, but something always seems to go wrong out here."  
 **"DOCKING PROCEDURE COMPLETE"  
** "Welcome to Thunderbird 5" John said, escorting Lunar out of Thunderbird 3 and into the space station. She looked around in amazement, taking in all of the different elements, such as the many control panels and the panoramic view back down to Earth.  
"I'm glad you like it" Alan surprised her, walking in from the bedroom. It was the first time Lunar had seen Alan since becoming a part of International Rescue, so she felt it only appropriate to give him a hug.  
"It's amazing" Lunar said.  
"I know" Alan replied. "Come on, I'll show you around."

"I don't care what Mr Lee tells you!" Linden Ashton Sr shouted down his phone, almost screaming in frustration. "50 is as high as I'm willing to go, and if he thinks he can get any more out of us, then I implore you to suggest to him that he takes a long walk off a very tall cliff. I run a business here, not a charity shop, and I will not be taken to the cleaners by wretched opportunists like Tiberius Xin Lee. If he wants to sell us the new solar deflection technology, then I am only going to pay him 50 million dollars for it. Otherwise he can take his radar dish and shove it up his-"  
"You shouting at your assistant again?" Randall Miller asked, leaning against Linden's desk with a glass of whisky in his hand. Linden calmed down enough to cordially hang up before turning to his business partner.  
"What are you doing here Randall?"  
"I swear that kid doesn't get paid enough to get berated by you every other day. Anyway, I'm here because Congressman Jim Hallibert wants to have a chat with you about renewing our military contracts."  
"Couldn't you have told me that over the phone?"  
"He's downstairs" Randall said, watching Linden's face drop.  
"You're being serious, aren't you? Oh for-"  
"He's not happy. Not about the military contracts, he's fine with that, but he hasn't forgotten the fallout of our little trip to the Amazon where your kids almost ended up dying in a giant forest fire. If International Rescue hadn't shown up, things would have been a lot worse."  
"Fine, we'll go and see him. Just don't laugh whilst he's tearing me apart."  
Randall downed his drink, then walked with Linden to the elevator. It slid open effortlessly, the epitome of the efficiency of Ashton Enterprises HQ in Los Angeles, and they stepped into the plush interior.  
"This place needs a liquor dispenser" Randall said, swirling around the ice cubes in his empty glass. Linden snatched it off him. Randall snatched it back.  
"You need to stop drinking so much. I swear alcohol imports count for half our expenditure these days."  
"I'll stop drinking when I'm dead" Randall said. "Now this elevator needs to speed up, I haven't had a cigar in about 15 minutes."  
"Oh come on, we're almost there. We were coming from the 25th floor after all. You run out of patience far too easily."  
Linden looked over to the digital display as they went past the 7th floor, then down to the 6th, and then to the 5th... The elevator stopped, pushing just past the 5th floor with a clicking sound and grinding to a halt.  
"That isn't right" Linden said quietly, looking at Randall, who simply shrugged his shoulders and went back to staring at his glass. Linden went to push the emergency button, but as soon as his finger depressed the button there was a large rumble from above him. The elevator began to shake as the entire shaft felt as if it was falling apart around them; Randall fell over, though still managed to hold onto his glass. Linden hit the emergency button over and over with no response. There was a high pitched metallic screech as the elevator began to buckle. Before Linden knew it, there was a weird sensation in his stomach as the elevator began to fall, all the way down. He tried to hold on as it crashed to the ground, but the force threw him off the floor and into the opposite wall, before he slumped down to the floor. The red velvet of the elevator wall was the last thing he saw before his whole world went black. Then, nothing.

Randall slowly picked himself off the floor. The fall had rattled him, but he was just about still in one piece. He leaned over Linden;  
"Linden! Wake up man."  
Not getting a response, Randall slapped him across the face. Linden stirred, but didn't wake up.  
"Well you're alive" Randall said. "I'll take that for now."  
Randall moved away from Linden and looked around. The elevator itself actually looked in one piece, except that the roof had bowed slightly inwards. Randall could still see the maintenance hatch though, and unlocked it. But when he tried to push it open, he was met with great resistance. He pushed harder, but eventually had to back down. Something was weighing down the hatch. Next he moved over to the panel on the elevator wall, and started looking for anything he could use to get them out of there.  
"I don't understand any of this" He admitted to himself eventually, so began pushing random buttons, but when nothing changed he hit the panel hard with his fist. Still nothing.  
"That's not going to help" Linden said, startling Randall. He had propped himself up against the wall; He had a nasty looking bruise on his forehead, but otherwise seemed OK. "I tried pressing the emergency button before anyway, and it's not working. We're trapped down here."  
"I suppose I've been in worse" Randall said. "At least this time I'm less likely to get stabbed by debris."  
"I've got no signal in here, too much radio interference. Whatever caused the elevator to fail obviously caused a great deal of damage to Ashton Tower. This place is made of what? Concrete, steel, several types of plastic. But the elevator shaft itself is laced with Iridium and Indium structural components. That causes interference at the same signal wavelength this phone operates at, which is why nothing works."  
Randall just stared wide eyed. "You are as bad as your kids, you know that?"  
"Search your pockets, just incase there's something we can use to communicate."  
Both Randall and Linden emptied their pockets, highlighting the differences in the way the men lived. Linden had his wallet, several business cards, a handheld alarm and several mints; Randall on the other hand pulled out 3 cigars, a poker chip and a miniature bottle of scotch that he hadn't actually realised he had.  
"At least if I die, I can die happy" He quipped. Linden rolled his eyes.

It was all action stations inside Ashton Tower after the explosion inside Linden Ashton Sr's penthouse office. Everyone had been evacuated and fire crews called, but it was still something of a frantic situation. There was one main question on everybody's lips: Was Linden Ashton Sr in his office when it blew up?  
"I've heard nothing, and I can't contact him or Randall Miller" Sierra Vasquez, chief PA to Linden, said to Mark Schulz, who was head of communications.  
"Do we know for certain he was in the building?"  
"Yes" Sierra said. "He had been in here for the last few hours. Randall was here too, he went up to tell Mr Ashton that Congressman Hallibert was here and wanted to talk to him."  
"Wait, that means Mr Miller could have been up there too" Schulz said in realisation. Sierra nodded.  
"Like I said, I can't contact either of them."  
"We need to review the footage. The CCTV is saved on an external drive in another building, so it shouldn't be affected."  
Schulz led Vasquez out of Ashton Tower and into the small adjacent building beside it. It was filled with monitors and giant computer terminals. It was a tech guy's dreamhouse.  
"The explosion went off at 15:26, so I'm going to review all footage leading up to that time."  
Schulz began typing in commands to the computer, until eventually the video feed from Linden Ashton's office came up on screen. Both him and Randall Miller were there, talking.  
"OK, I'm going to play the footage" Schulz said. He and Vasquez watched as the conversation progressed, until both Linden and Randall had gone into the elevator. Then they waited some more. Then the explosion hit, and in an instant the camera was gone.  
"They weren't there" Vasquez said. "They were in the elevator. But what happened to the elevator?"  
"Let's find out" Schulz said, and booted up a different camera, one from inside the elevator itself. Linden and Randall were nicely chatting away until the elevator seemed to come to a stop. Then, right on cue, the explosion hit and the elevator began to fall to the ground.  
"Oh my god" Vasquez said, watching as it went down, all the way down. She was relieved when both Randall and Linden- eventually- picked themselves off the floor. But it was clear they were trapped. Schulz quickly switched to a live feed of the elevator shaft at the bottom, and was met by a scene of destruction that he hadn't seen before.  
"The entire shaft is hanging on by a thread. It could collapse any second. They're buried in rubble as it is... But this would finish them for good."  
"What do we do?"  
"Call the fire department, inform them of the situation. But something tells me that this is going to be beyond even their capabilities. In which case, there's only one things we can do- we call International Rescue."

It was certainly different having more than one person onboard Thunderbird 5. But John had made sure to pack a 3-way chess board, and now himself, Alan and Lunar were engaged in a game of epic proportions, which mainly seemed to be centred on laying siege to Alan's side of the board.  
"I guess that's it's not all fun and games like this up here when there's just the one of you" Lunar said, taking Alan's final pawn with her queen.  
"No" Alan said, wryly looking across the board. "But at least you're not being ganged up on by Star Gazer and Astro Texan 24/7."  
"Don't you get lonely?"  
"Yes" John replied, "Eventually. Half the time you have rescues to help co-ordinate, and most of the rest of the time you're trying to catch up on sleep. Plus you can communicate with everyone back on the island."  
"I video call Tin-Tin a lot" Alan chipped in. "I knew long distance relationships were a thing, I just didn't expect one separated by several thousand miles of outer space."  
"I'm just glad I don't have to do it" Lunar said. Suddenly, the console behind them started beeping, breaking the conversation.  
"Oh here we go" John said. "Somebody needs rescuing. It's always a fun lottery to see just what kind of rescue you get."  
" _Calling International Rescue_ " The voice said over the communication link. " _Can anybody hear us?_ "  
"This is International Rescue" John responded, "Reading you loud and clear. What's the situation?"  
"My name is Mark Schulz, I'm head of communications at Ashton Enterprises... Oh what does that matter. There's been an explosion at Ashton Tower, and Linden Ashton Sr and Randall Miller, the two owners of the company, are trapped at the bottom of an elevator shaft. The fire service is tackling the fire, but they won't affect a rescue because they believe the elevator shaft is too unstable. We thought if anybody was able to get them out of there, it was International Rescue. You're their only hope."  
"OK" John said, processing it. "Do you have any eyes on the situation."  
"We have cameras in the elevator shaft and inside the elevator itself, yes. Both people are fine for now, but the elevator itself is buried under a large volume of rubble. There's no way for them to get out."  
"Understood. We'll see what we can do."  
John turned back to the other two.  
"Isn't Linden Ashton Sr the multi billionaire owner of Ashton Enterprises?" Lunar asked. Everyone had stopped playing chess by now.  
"Yes" John replied. "Not only that, but it wasn't too long ago that we pulled his son and daughter out of a raging forest fire, along with none other than Randall Miller."  
"Buildings don't tend to just explode like that on their own" Alan said.  
"I see what you're getting at. It could be sabotage."  
"It could be SkyeTech."  
"Let's not make that jump straight away. There is a possibility, however small, that there could be another explanation. Right now we just need to inform everyone back on Tracy Island. We have a situation."

It had started raining on Tracy Island, and it was raining heavily. As rain wasn't something that came about often, for some it was a welcome relief. Tin-Tin especially was enjoying playing in the rain, having jumped into the pool just as the storm had begun to take hold. It wasn't cold, so what was there to complain about? Apparently that way of thinking didn't manifest itself in Gordon, who didn't seem best pleased to be the one who had to drag Tin-Tin out of the pool so that she could meet up everyone else for the end of the briefing.  
"Ah good Tin-Tin, you're here" Jeff said. "I want you to go with Brains, he'll brief you properly on what's going on. In short, we have to rescue people trapped in an elevator at the bottom of an elevator shaft."  
"F-First" Brains interrupted, "We have to load up the c-cage to Thunderbird 2."  
"Is the cage really going to be able to withstand the damage to Ashton Tower?" Scott asked. He was all but ready to leave.  
"S-So long as there isn't another explosion, we s-should be f-fine. I'm still slightly c-concerned about the structural integrity of t-the tower with the cage in it though, which is why I need you Tin-Tin, to help me run some tests."  
"We don't have time to waste" Jeff said hurriedly. "Scott, launch Thunderbird 1. Brains, get the cage fitted ASAP and then Virgil can get away in Thunderbird 2. There are two men trapped at the bottom of a very unstable building, so time is of the essence."  
"FAB father" Scott said as he left.  
"Yeah" Virgil joined in. "FAB."

The sight at Ashton Tower was not pretty when Scott got there. The entire top level was still ablaze, and the fire had begun to spread downwards despite the fire service's best efforts. There were lots of people around, but thanks to Brains' cloaking mechanism that was no longer such a problem for them anymore. Still, Scott couldn't take any chances.  
"International Rescue calling Ashton Tower, I am now in the vicinity of the danger zone and I'm coming in to land. How is the situation?"  
"Not much change" Schulz responded over the radio. "But the fire is starting to slowly spread. We have no communications to Linden Ashton or Randall Miller down there, so they have no idea if a rescue is going to be coming."  
"OK I understand" Scott said. "We'll try to be quick, but we're worried about the structural integrity of the elevator shaft. Our heavy rescue is due to arrive any minute, then we'll begin."  
"I just hope you're in time" Schulz said. "It must be mighty lonely down there for the two of them."  
As Scott finished his radio message, Virgil and Thunderbird 2 arrived. The cloaking mechanism was interesting, because you could still see the Thunderbirds with your own eyes, but if you took a picture of it then the picture would come up blank. Didn't stop them chasing people who took photos anyway.  
"Thunderbird 1 from Thunderbird 2" Virgil said, "I'm here and ready to get this show on the road. Everything OK?"  
"I think so" Scott said, having exited Thunderbird 1. "Turns out there are no communications down to our trapped friends, so they're not going to know they're being rescued until it happens."  
"A pleasant surprise for them I'm sure" Virgil said. He was now hovering just above the ground, with the cage itself attached to the underside of the craft instead of a pod. Scott opened the hatch, then climbed inside the cage itself.  
"I'm ready Virgil. Let's start this rescue."  
"FAB" Virgil replied. He took Thunderbird 2 so that it was hovering over the top of the tower, above the now exposed elevator shaft.  
"Thank god for these heat protection suits" Scott said. "The first couple of levels are going to be toasty."  
Virgil laughed. "You bet. Should be OK afterwards though." He began to lower the cage, watching as it disappeared down the shaft. The rescue was now fully underway."

Brains took Tin-Tin into the lab. It was as pristine as it always was, yet still filled with as much clutter as Brains could be bothered to work with. Half built inventions filled one side, whilst super efficient computer units and state of the art testing equipment filled the other. Brains was certainly a man of two halves.  
"I s-set up a simulation of Ashton Tower" Brains said, bringing up a holographic image of the tower, along with Thunderbird 2 and the cage. "I w-want to know how much s-stress using the cage would put on the weakened supports."  
"I'll input the parameters" Tin-Tin said. "Cage dimensions, winch length and all parameters of Thunderbird 2 I'm inputting as standard. Should I represent the fire in the top level?"  
"Yes Tin-Tin" Brains said. "But you should p-probably make it the top two levels as the fire is spreading."  
"OK, everything has been coded into the simulation. I'm going to run it now."  
As Tin-Tin began to run the simulation, Brains kept a careful eye on how everything was proceeding.  
"The cage is s-smaller than the elevator shaft, so there are no problems there. Everything is going according to p-plan."  
Brains kept a careful watch as the simulation got past the point where Linden and Randall were loaded into the cage. But then, as they started to be pulled back up, a warning sign appeared. Brains instantly tapped on it, enlarging that section of the hologram.  
"What is it?" Tin-Tin asked, getting out of her chair and joining Brains.  
"I was w-wrong" Brains said. "It's not the cage that is going to be a problem. But the combined force of Thunderbird 2's thrusters and the top level weakened by the fire will result in a total collapse, right on top of the cage. T-They'll be trapped. We have to warn them!"

Scott had reached the bottom of the elevator shaft.  
"I'm here Virgil, but the entire top of the elevator is covered in debris. I'm going to try and cut it free so that I can open up the hatch."  
"FAB" Virgil replied. "I'll keep you steady from up here."  
Knowing they would have a problem with the debris, they had brought the torch cutter with them. Scott opened up the bottom of the cage and began to start cutting away, but it wasn't easy work. A lot of the debris consisted of metal support beams or other items that had been thrown out of the office and down the elevator shaft by the explosion. Scott worked away until eventually he had cleared enough room to open the hatch on the top of the elevator. When he did, there were excited gasps from below.  
"International Rescue" Scott introduced himself. "I'm here to get you out of here."  
"How the hell did you find us?" Linden asked, as confused as he was surprised.  
"Oh give off it Linden" Randall said. "Someone was bound to notice we were gone. Hey, you're the same guy that pulled us out of the Amazon, aren't you?"  
"One and the same" Scott said, impressed that Randall had remembered. "Now come on, we have to get out of here and fast."  
Scott helped Randall get into the cage first, then Linden.  
"OK Thunderbird 2, we're all aboard. Start winching us back up."  
On cue, the cage started to be pulled back out of the elevator shaft. Randall had to avert his eyes as they made the ascent.  
"Christ, I hate heights" He said, looking at nothing but the wall.  
"There's a lot of damage around here. What actually happened?"  
"Explosion" Scott said. Linden looked ever so slightly alarmed.  
"An explosion? That would explain a lot I guess."  
"SCOTT!" Virgil suddenly shouted over the radio. "We have a problem!"  
"What's going on?" Scott replied, noting the desperation in Virgil's voice.  
"The building Scott, it's collapsing. It's going to collapse right into the elevator shaft. It's going... It's going to... Scott! It's collapsed! Brace yourself!"

 **TO BE CONTINUED...**


	11. Target Part II

**Target Part II**

Scott barely had time to see it before it hit them. But when the view of the sky was suddenly blocked out by a mass of burning rubble, he knew it was coming. The impact sent the cage sliding back down the shaft, with no way of knowing how far down they were going.  
"The rubble is weighing you down, and it's pulling me down with you!" Virgil shouted over the radio. Scott could hear the strain in his voice. Eventually the cage came to a stop, but they had lost half their progress.  
"This is inconvenient" Scott said. "I can't see a damn thing down here now."  
"I'm sending a radio message back to the island" Virgil replied. "Hopefully Brains can think of something. I've still got hold of you for now, but no way can the winch haul up that weight of material."  
"Yeah I understand Virgil" Scott said. "Just make it quick. Things are really beginning to warm up in here."

Jeff had almost trained himself to react when one of the boys' portraits began to flash. He could almost hit the receiver instantly, though sometimes he was so hasty that he would miss the button completely and have to do it again. When Virgil's eyes began to flash, this was no different.  
"This is Tracy Island receiving you, how's it going Virgil?"  
"Not good" Virgil replied. "The top level of Ashton Tower has collapsed, and I can't winch the cage out of the elevator shaft because of all the rubble that's on top of them, it's too heavy. The fire isn't letting up either. I could use an idea from Brains right about now."  
Just as Virgil finished his sentence, Brains came running into the room, Tin-Tin in tow.  
"You have to a-abort!" Brains shouted. "The top level of t-the building is going to c-collapse!"  
Jeff look at Virgil, then back to Brains.  
"Too late."  
"Oh" Brains said, stopping his frantic train of thought dead in its tracks. "That isn't good."  
"No it isn't" Virgil said. "And I'm struggling here to stop the cage from going straight back down. I can't use the winch because it isn't powerful enough, but I did have the idea of using the thrusters and just pulling them out using-"  
"No Virgil" Brains interrupted. "Your thrusters are the reason the t-top levels of the building are collapsing. If you increase thrust, then the entire next two levels could come into a complete collapse. Not only would that put s-significant strain on the building, i-it would flood the elevator shaft and send the cage all the way back to the bottom, before b-burying it alive! Don't do it."  
"OK Brains" Virgil said. "But I need a solution, and I need it fast."

"He wants me to what?" Scott asked, when Virgil relayed to him Brains' plan.  
"He wants you to rock the cage" Virgil replied. "The cage isn't as big as the elevator shaft, so there's a good chance that you can dislodge some of the debris to fall back down. That way I can winch you up more than I can now."  
"You still wouldn't be able to winch me up all the way. I can already tell you some of the things on here are massive and solid, they wouldn't budge."  
"I don't need to take you up all the way, only as far as the next floor. You have the cutting gear, so you can cut open the door and then escape out of the building."  
"Can't you just take us down a level?" Linden asked out loud, "Surely that would be easier?"  
"That was my first thought" Virgil replied. "But the force of impact when the top level collapsed on top of you seems to have jammed my winch. It'll only come up now, it won't go down any further."  
"OK then" Scott said, "Let's rock the cage."  
Scott walked to the far end of the cage, then started trying to push it backwards and forwards. It was heavy, very heavy.  
"Come on" Scott said to Linden and Randall. "You two aren't invalids yet. You can help."  
Randall seemed to take the hint first, and began to help Scott shake loose some of the debris. Linden eventually joined, and between the three of them they managed to get a rhythm up. Soon, they had dislodged all of the smaller parts, and Virgil could begin winching them up.  
"Alright, it's about time. Reeling in the cable. Tell me when you're level with the doors, then I'll stop."  
"OK" Scott said, watching intently as the cage slowly gained elevation. "Steady... Steady... Stop! Good work Virgil, I'll get to work on this door and hopefully we can be out of here soon enough."  
"Hey!" Linden shouted suddenly. "Who the hell is that?!"  
Scott turned around and followed where Linden was pointing, down to the bottom of the lift shaft. He almost had to do a double take when he saw the man in some kind of robotic suit of armour stood below them. And then Scott saw the sniper rifle he was holding.  
"Everybody down!" Scott shouted, practically pushing Linden to the floor as the first shot rang out. Randall then decided to jump on Linden as the second shot echoed through the empty space. Scott returned fire, but the bullets just bounced off the unknown attacker's armour, before he disappeared back into the shadows.  
"Linden's been shot" Randall shouted. Scott could see two bullet wounds on his left side, one on top of the other.  
"This is Thunderbird 1 calling International Rescue. This is a red alert. I repeat, this is a red alert. There is an unknown attacker inside the building. Linden Ashton has been shot."

John was on it as soon as the red alert had come through.  
"Alan, pull up a map of Ashton tower and all life forms currently present."  
Alan obliged, and soon there was a holographic map filling up Thunderbird 5.  
"Scott" John said. "There is only other life form in the building except for the three of you in the cage, and they're currently making an escape out of the back of the building. I've alerted the police but right now you have to focus on getting those doors open and getting Linden Ashton outside. There are already ambulances outside ready to take him once you get down there."  
John looked back round to see Lunar perched on the edge of chess table, looking nervous.  
"This is serious, isn't it?" She asked, chewing on her lip.  
"It's always serious" John said. "We rescue people from dangerous situations. But I admit, first an explosion and then someone infiltrates the building and shoots Linden Ashton Sr, one of the richest and most powerful men in the world. I'm really leaning towards this not being an accident anymore."

"I agree John" Jeff said, once the astronaut had relayed his thoughts back down to Tracy Island. "First the explosion, inside Linden Ashton's office, that takes the elevator out of commission. Now somebody walks out and brazenly opens fire on the rescue effort. It's too much of a coincidence for them not to be linked in some way."  
"Do you think this could be SkyeTech?" John asked. "Linden Ashton is a powerful man, if they wanted to get him out of the way..."  
"I understand what you're saying" Jeff replied. "And Ashton Enterprises is not under the SkyeTech umbrella so far as we can tell, which could make him a target. What I don't understand, at the moment, is if they wanted to kill Linden Ashton, then how did they get the timing of the explosion so wrong that they only managed to trap him at the bottom of an elevator shaft? Unless their plan all along was to just trap him down there so that they could shoot him. Even so..."  
"Could they be trying to lure us down there again? It's not the first time they would have tried to draw us out by staging a rescue effort."  
"I can't rule it out as a possibility" Jeff said. "Right now I think I'm going to get Lady Penelope on this. If anybody can figure out what is going on, she can. Keep an eye on the situation, and relay back anything important."  
"Right father" John said. "Thunderbird 5 signing off."

Jeff took a moment to process his conversation with John, then turned to the painting at the back of the wall. Unlike the 5 Tracy brothers, Lady Penelope's portrait was situated next to Jeff and his desk, It wasn't the most convenient of places to put it, but it was the only place that it really fit, so it had to make do.  
"This is International Rescue calling Lady Penelope, come in Penny."  
"Why Jeff, it's lovely to see you" Lady Penelope replied, the live video of her appearing in place of the portrait. "I would guess that you're here about Ashton Tower. It's all over the news."  
"You're right Penny. We're beginning to believe that the explosion at Ashton Tower may not have been an accident after all. Linden Ashton has been attacked and shot during the rescue, and that's too much for me to believe that any of this is a coincidence."  
"I see" Penelope said seriously. "That means someone set up Linden Ashton's office to explode. And then, when he didn't die in that, they sent someone to finish the job."  
"My thinking exactly" Jeff said. "I'm going to have CCTV footage of Ashton Tower sent over. I'd like you and Parker to look through it and see if you can find anything that'd help us in the search for whoever did this."  
"Of course Jeff, I'll get on it right away. We'll find them, don't worry."

Lady Penelope pulled out one of her plush seats, then sat behind the desk filled with computer monitors. Her manor might look fancy and sophisticated if you take a glance at just the sections open to anybody's glare, but underneath there were several unseen corners filled with everything she needed to do her other job, working with International Rescue.  
"Parker, we have an assignment" She called out as the system booted up. Sure enough, Parker was soon by her side, ready to have a go at cracking the CCTV footage.  
"There is a lot of it 'ere m'lady. Anything in particular we are looking for?"  
"Considering the blast originated inside Linden Ashton's penthouse office, it would make sense for us to begin there. I want you to look through the last 2 hours before the explosion- see if there's anybody in there that shouldn't be. The sooner we narrow this down, the sooner we can put an end to this."  
"Right m'lady. I shall be on that straight away."  
"Meanwhile, I will have a look at the cameras in the surrounding areas. See if the dots can connect. Someone, somewhere brought an explosive device into that office. I want to know who that was."

It took them over 40 minutes of scrolling through the footage before they finally found something. It almost looked as if they weren't going to get anything. Supposedly, nobody had been inside Linden Ashton's office, even when they sent the footage back even further. Eventually, however, little discrepancies started to appear, and the pieces started to fall into place. It was Lady Penelope who struck the first hit.  
"Parker, come take a look at this for a second will you. That man there" Penelope pointed to the corner of the screen, where a man dressed in overalls was talking to the receptionist. "I missed him the first time because I didn't think to take a second look at someone doing maintenance, but I recognised that jacket. And there's one big problem with somebody from KGG Gas Services doing maintenance work inside Ashton Tower."  
"Of course!" Parker's face lit up. "Ashton Tower is all powered by the sun! There aren't any gas appliances in there."  
"Precisely. So I wonder what our friend was up to. He goes into the elevator after this, and I want to know just where he gets off."  
Lady Penelope brought up every single floor in Ashton Tower onto the monitors, then replayed the tape. But as the elevator went up, floor by floor, the mystery man did not get out."  
"That settles it. He must have gone all the way up to the office."  
"I'm h'afriad not m'lady" Parker said. "I've reviewed the footage, and he doesn't appear here either."  
"Well let's look at it together, maybe we'll spot something on another go."  
"Right we are m'lady" Parker said, rewinding the footage. He started from the moment the man got into the elevator, and then watched it all the way through until he should have stepped off the elevator and into the office and then some more. But still nothing.  
"Hang on a minute!" Parker suddenly shouted, midway through their second screening. "That fly!"  
"Yes Parker, there is a fly in the office" Penelope said, "But I don't see what the fly has to do with catching our mystery man."  
"Look" Parker said, rewinding slightly. When he played the footage, he kept his finger on the position of the fly, until suddenly, mid clip, the fly disappeared and reappeared on the other side of the office.  
"I don't believe it."  
"The footage m'lady, it's on a loop. No wonder we never saw him get out of the damn lift, he was fooling us all along."  
"You're quite right Parker, but he won't be doing that anymore."  
Lady Penelope went back to her monitor, and started going through the tapes again. Whoever this person was, he was very good at evading cameras. All cameras except one he hadn't bargained for. When Jeff had said that all footage was being sent over, he wasn't wrong. She had all of the footage, including the receptionist's shirt button camera.  
"I've got you now" Penelope said. "I'm running his image through facial recognition."  
"No need" Parker replied. "I know who that is. That's Dennis Vanderson, not that he calls 'imself that anymore. What does he go by now? Ah..."  
"I can still run the image if your memory is failing you Parker?"  
"John Colazo! That's it! He's a cat burglar turned contract killer. Last I heard he was living it up Stateside."  
"Makes sense" Penelope said. She ran the image anyway, and got exactly the result she got from Parker. Not that anybody had seen Dennis Vanderson for 12 years, but it was definitely him. "Parker, how do you feel about a little trip to try and track down our contract killer here?"  
"Oh I would love that m'lady" Parker responded. "I'll go get the car."

The giant steel elevator doors, once a dull silver in colour, now glowed a bright orange under Scott Tracy's cutting torch. It was slower than he would have liked, but these doors were state of the art.  
"How much longer?" Randall asked, still holding the injured Linden Ashton. "Linden's beginning to fade."  
"Not long" Scott replied. "These doors are solid, it's taking a lot of work to get through them."  
"It's ironic" Linden said quietly. "I built those doors to be bombproof. Apparently they're not bombproof enough to stop the first explosion, but still stubborn enough that I might die trying to escape a bombing. And a shooting. I suppose this clinches it as my worst moment as CEO of this company."  
"Stop talking" Randall hissed. "You need to save your energy."  
"Since when have you ever been so sensible?"  
"Since the man who writes my payslips is lying injured in my arms, bleeding all over my very expensive shirt."  
There was a loud creak as the elevator doors split apart, but the noise signalled that they had a chance to finally get out of there.  
"OK" Scott said. "The only problem we have now is the rather large gap between the cage and the floor. I could jump it, so could Randall, but Linden is not going to be able to do anything."  
"One of us goes over, and the other passes Linden across" Randall suggested.  
"I was thinking that too, but it's still a large gap."  
"Well I'd rather not spend all day in here" Randall said. "I am dying for a cigar and a nice bottle of whisky."  
"I'll go across" Scott said. He backed up to the edge of the cage, then sprinted like he was at the Olympics preparing for a long jump attempt, bounding across the gap and landing on the other side.  
"Now Linden's turn."  
Randall took Linden, then started to lay him out over the edge of the cage, holding onto his legs whilst hooking himself to the cage. Scott too stretched out, and grabbed hold of Linden's arms. Essentially, now they had made a human bridge across the gap.  
"It's not going to work" Scott said. "My grip isn't strong enough haul Linden across. You're going to have to rock the cage to get him closer."  
"Right then" Randall said, and began to rock the cage backwards and forwards. Scott went with the flow, until he had gauged the rhythm, and then on one of the forward thrusts he grasped Linden lower down, then hauled him over. Randall soon followed, and between them they started to get out of the building.  
"Scott" Virgil's voice suddenly appeared over the radio. "You might want to get out of there fast. The building is coming down. Get out!"

Carrying Linden was no easy task, but Scott and Randall managed it between them. As they moved down the first flight of stairs, there was a violent rumble under their feet and a crashing noise from above them. Something big must have collapsed, because suddenly burning ash began raining down on them.  
"How many more flights do we have to go down?" Randall asked, dodging out of the way as more debris came down on top of them. The stairwell was beginning to fill with smoke. Scott looked to the walls, picking out a glossy number 4 out of the now hazy area.  
"Just a few more floors" He said. They began to pick up their pace, now with just the stairs to conquer. Soon they were on the 3rd floor, and then the 2nd. Another loud crash echoed through the building, this time bringing with it a large support beam that came flying down the gap in the centre of the stairwell. There was a creak as the stairway behind them buckled, threatening to collapse entirely.  
"Come on" Scott said. "We have to get out of here, and we have to do it now."  
"It's so hot" Randall said. "This is bringing back all kinds of memories. Not good ones either."  
Now they were on the first floor. Almost at the bottom. Scott had to start kicking away burning pieces of what remained of the upper levels to clear their path. Eventually they managed to fight their way down to the ground floor.  
"Where the hell is the door?" Randall asked, trying to wave the smoke away. There was just too much of it.  
"I've got it!" Scott said. He quickly pulled the handle down and opened the door, only to be met by a giant fireball that sent them all flying backwards. Scott quickly picked himself up, just to see the entire lobby in flames.  
"Virgil" Scott said, as calmly as possible. "We're trapped in the ground floor stairwell. As far as I can see, the only way out of here is to run through the burning lobby, but I don't know if the suits can stand up to it. Not only that, but Linden's suit has 2 bullet holes in it, and he's already in a bad way."  
"This building is coming down any minute, Scott!" Virgil replied, a lot less calmly. "If that's your way out then you're going to have to take it!"  
"You hear that Randall. We're going to have to make a run through the lobby. It's our only way out."  
"Last time I'm pretty sure I'd already passed out by this point" Randall said. "But fine."  
Scott and Randall put Linden between them, then stood by the door.  
"On my signal" Scott said. "Now!"

They moved into the lobby, making sure Linden's body didn't drag along the ground as they went. Linden was not the lightest of people, and so it took all the effort of both Scott and Randall to keep him upright as they moved through. The heat was incredible, even in the suits. The air was so thick, it was as if they were moving through treacle.  
"I don't see the exit!" Randall shouted, but Scott calmed him down.  
"Just keep moving straight. It's here, just keep moving."  
They kept moving, but it felt as if they were getting nowhere. Their movements were becoming lethargic, and even inside the suit it felt like 500 degrees. If Scott hadn't known better, he would have been content with just laying down and giving up, such was the strain on his body to continue. But he did know better. He was International Rescue, and people's lives depended on him. He put his head in gear and eventually, step by step, they walked all the way through and out into the open air. Almost instantly, once they had passed the fire safety barrier, Linden and Randall were whisked away by the medical staff on the scene, but not before Randall had a quick chance to send Scott a little salute.  
"Nice to see you got out OK" Virgil said. Scott could see him hovering in Thunderbird 2. "Now get back in your craft and let's get out of here, before that building comes down for good."  
"FAB Virgil" Scott replied, running round the back of the building to retrieve Thunderbird 1. "F. A. B."

Having contacts within the aviation industry was always a great help. Lady Penelope rarely had need to use those contacts, but sometimes when International Rescue came calling, they had to be put to good use. No sooner had they identified John Colazo as the mystery bomber than Lady Penelope and Parker found themselves onboard a Fireflash heading straight for LA. It took them just a couple of hours to arrive, but that was more than enough time for Lady Penelope to track down where John Colazo was now staying in the aftermath of his attack. A nice house in a suburban neighbourhood. Secluded, yet not somewhere anybody would look at and think of as a hideaway. It's no wonder he chose it.  
"Are you ready Parker?" Lady Penelope asked, stood outside the front door.  
"Oh yes m'lady" Parker replied. He attached a small explosive device, then stood back and watched at it blew the lock clean off the door. Now they could really get down to business.

"This is a nice place" Lady Penelope said, pushing the front door out of the way and walking into the bungalow. "Wouldn't you say, Parker?"  
"Oh yes m'lady" Parker replied, swiping a gold watch off the hall table when he was sure Lady P wasn't looking.  
"You check the kitchen, I'll take the front room. He's got to be in here somewhere."  
"Right we are m'lady. He won't get away."  
As they split off, Lady Penelope took a look around the pristine front room. Either nobody lived here, or whoever lived here took immaculate care of their property. It was also very... Feminine. Something told her that this was not where John Colazo spent most of his life. It also didn't look as if John Colazo was here at all, especially when Parker hadn't said anything. But then Lady Penelope took a cursory look at the bookcase, and spotted something. Something that shouldn't have been there.  
"Awfully strange to have a doorway blocked off by a bookcase" She said quietly to herself, pushing the bookcase aside, with greater ease than she had expected.  
"Now, let's see what's behind-"  
The door flew open, knocking Lady Penelope to the floor as John Colazo burst out, making a run straight for the front door.  
"PARKER!" Penelope shouted, picking herself up.  
As Colazo exited the front room, he ran straight into Parker, sending them both crashing to the floor. Colazo tried to throw a punch as he got up, but Parker dodged it. Still, it put the butler on the back foot.  
"'ere you cretin, stop!" Parker shouted, pulling his sidearm from his waistband as Colazo ran out of the house. "I will shoot you."  
But Colazo kept going, sprinting across the road in his bid for freedom. Parker sighed, then pulled the trigger, hitting the hitman in his leg, sending him flying onto the ground.  
"Good shot Parker" Lady Penelope said, having finally caught up with him. "Bring him inside. I think we have a few questions to ask Mr Colazo about what has been going on."  
"Right away" Parker said, and began his walk across the street to John Colazo, who was still laying there, clutching his leg. Lady Penelope smiled. This was going well.

"John Colazo" Lady Penelope began, walking a circle around him. "How does it feel to be tied up in your own home? Not that I actually believe for a second that this is your home. I'm afraid we have a few things to go through, including your work for SkyeTech and the attack on Ashton tower, which we know you were behind. You are supposedly a very good assassin and saboteur. Parker here is a big fan of your work. So why is it that Linden Ashton was able to survive the bomb that went off in his office? A task as simple as that and you fail to kill him? I struggle to believe you would be so careless."  
Colazo looked up at Lady Penelope and laughed shallowly, but he did not speak.  
"Something funny?"  
"I'll sort 'im out m'lady" Parker said, then slapped him hard across the face with his open palm. Colazo stopped laughing, and simply began to stare.  
"You obviously disagree with something I've said" Lady Penelope continued. "What is it, that you never meant to kill him in the first place? Oh but why would you want that? Was it an audition to potential employers- look at me, if I can attack Linden Ashton, I can kill anyone you want? No, I know what it was. Linden said as much himself, that he was the most powerful man not in SkyeTech's clutches. It was a warning to everyone else. A very publicised warning."  
Colazo continued to stare, but let out the weakest of smiles, something Lady Penelope picked up on.  
"I'm right, and he knows it. So tell me, John, it was all going perfectly. Why then try to shoot him too? It was unnecessary, if all you wanted to do was shake him up. If you were trying to kill him, then it was a pathetic and quite awful attempt. I thought you were a better marksman than that."  
"I didn't shoot him" Colazo said, the first time he had talked the whole time.  
"Did you speak? I was starting to forget what your voice sounded like. Somebody took the shot, and you were the only person there. Come on John, admit that you failed."  
"How dare you insult my skill!" Colazo erupted. "If I wanted Linden Ashton dead, then he would be dead. I wasn't the freak in a metal suit who got in the way of the operation! I was supposed to blow up his office, nothing more."  
Colazo stopped dead, his face turning white as he realised what he had just let slip.  
"Arrogance and pride, m'lady" Parker said. "Always one of those that makes them talk."  
"Indeed. Now, I am very interested in this 'freak', as you called him."  
"I've already said too much. You won't make me talk any further."  
Lady Penelope looked over to Parker, who walked over and pressed his foot down hard on Colazo's gunshot wound. When Colazo remained silent, Parker pressed down harder, until Colazo could take no more.  
"OK! OK! I don't know who he is, but he rocked up to Ashton tower just before the fireworks began. He made me, and he began to approach me so I bolted. I don't know who he is, but the guy walked in there with a sniper rifle, so if Linden Ashton was shot, then he's your guy."  
"Very interesting" Lady Penelope said. "Thank you."  
"What shall we do with him?" Parker asked.  
"Well I'm sure the authorities will be very interested to know what our friend here has been up to. Let's take him for a ride downtown."  
"Right m'lady" Parker said. "I'm certain this will be great fun."

"Linden Ashton is going to survive" Jeff proclaimed to the room, with everyone gathered round. Everyone still on the island, that was. Lunar, John and Alan were all still in Thunderbird 5, whilst Lady Penelope and Parker were busy handing John Colazo over to the FBI. For everyone else, however, it was time to celebrate another successful mission.  
"How bad was it?" Scott asked. Having been fighting to get out of the building, he had never been able to properly assess Linden's wounds.  
"The two bullet wounds themselves were not actually that bad, they were certainly not the fatal shots the assassin would have wanted, likely thanks to Randall and yourself. In the end, Linden Ashton actually suffered more from smoke inhalation because his suit was punctured. Aston Tower is still burning away, despite collapsing, but as there is nobody there who shouldn't be, that's a job for the fire service, not International Rescue."  
"There's still the question of our mystery assassin" Gordon said. "If they weren't SkyeTech, who were they?"  
"That we do not yet know. I've forwarded Scott's description on to Colonel Langley, and I'll see if he has anything. For now, they're not our concern."  
Suddenly, John's portrait began to flash, drawing everyone out of the conversation.  
"Oh come on" Scott said. "Not another rescue already?"  
"What's up John?" Jeff asked, but John looked nervous. Unsure.  
"We've just received a message father. Not a rescue call, but a message. A message that was sent using International Rescue's waveband. I... You'll just have to see this for yourself."  
A hologram appeared in the middle of the room, depicting a man in a suit of armour. The armour was bulky, covering every inch of the person from head to toe. It was silver, mainly, but with streaks of orange across the panelling. A set of white rings seemed to spin on his right arm, growing and shrinking, spinning as he moved. The helmet was shaped like a skull, with a large scar running down the side, reaching from the scalp and down the right hand side of his face, going through his eye in the process. Scott's mouth dropped at the sight of him.  
"No... That's him. That's the person who shot at us."

" _I am Orion_." The voice was deep, metallic. It had definitely been acoustically altered. " _I am the hunter. I am the judge, jury and executioner of those who have committed heinous crimes to the people of planet Earth. The greed of Ashton Enterprises led to the defrauding of thousands of innocent people, and for that it was his time to be judged. The fact he survived means that he has been given a second chance. It is up to him what he does with that chance, but he will be judged again. It was not my intention to involve you in my mission, and for that I apologise, but I believe this chance meeting has given us an opportunity. It is my understanding that you have been fighting against SkyeTech International to continue with your organisation's chief aims undisturbed. SkyeTech is a conglomerate implicit in several major crimes, including racketeering, corruption, bribery, money laundering, espionage and murder. I have been attempting to track down and eliminate the key players of SkyeTech for several months, and I believe our common interest leads to an opportunity where we can work together, and finally end the conglomerate's tyrannical reign. You do not have to accept this offer, but I strongly suggest that it is in your best interests that we work together. You have 24 hours to decide. I'll be waiting._ "


End file.
